Trust No One
by Silent-Writer83
Summary: She always questioned WICKED and their ways. When she is forced to throw her friends, one by one, into the Maze, she draws the line. Meraya, has a change of heart and decides to do something about WICKED and their little experiments. So what happens when WICKED finds out their own has turned against them? They wipe her memory and toss her into the Maze! REVIEWS WELCOME!
1. Chapter 1

She never did fit in with them, maybe that's why they sent her in. Meraya was a short girl with a pear-shapes body, thin upper body with ample hips. Her brown, naturally curly hair flowed out around her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face. Her amber eyes shown out from her bronze skin. Freckles dusted her small button-like nose just above her full lips.

Meraya couldn't pin point the day that WICKED had taken her. For most of her life she remembered the bland white walls with men and women in lab coats scrambling around to assess some new piece of information. Most of her childhood was solving an endless stream of puzzles and tests given to her by WICKED's elite. Many days of her youth, Meraya sat in a large cushioned chair, staring down at some puzzle or maze. Her thick brows pinched together, full lips in a slight pout, as she worked out multiple solutions in her head.

When she first came to WICKED, they had thought they made a mistake. Unlike the other kids, Meraya did not start in on her work instantly. She would sit and stare with a puckered face. She wasn't the first to finish either, usually she was last. They almost chalked her up as a failure until Chancellor Paige sat down with her at age ten.

 _Flashback_

 _Chancellor Paige's short heels clicked loudly against the tiled, ceramic floor as she made her way to the conference room where a small girl sat. Paige had the utmost confidence in the child, that's why when the teacher's had come to her claiming Meraya to be a failure, Chancellor Paige took it upon herself to speak with the girl, to find out what was going on._

 _As the Chancellor walked into the room, young Meraya sat in front of a small coffee table. On the table sat a small 9x9 board with two small bowls of stones, one black, and one white. The Chancellor recognized the game as Go, a board game about capturing territory dating back to China. Meraya sat as she usually did, brows furrowed and lips slightly puckered as she stared at the incomplete game._

 _Chancellor Paige approached and sat directly across from Meraya, but the little girl didn't so much as glance at her. Paige smirked to herself at this._

 _"Hello Meraya." Paige's aged, but sweet voice spoke out, shattering the calm silence of the empty room._

 _"They think I'm a failure. That's why you're here isn't it." Meraya said softly but with a strange authority no one her age should possess. Chancellor was silent for a moment, mildly surprised that this ten year old had picked up on that._

 _"Yes, that is why I am here." Chancellor Paige paused before continuing, "I would like to discuss your progress. Is that okay?"_

 _Meraya slowly looked up from the game, eyeing the woman in front of her. Meraya looked at Paige with mistrust but decided speaking with her couldn't be so bad. "Fine."_

 _Paige smiled, flashing her perfect, bleach white set of teeth. "Great, so why don't you take me through how you solve a puzzle." The Chancellor pulled out a small rubix cube and handed it to Meraya. The young girl raised a brow at the woman but examined the block._

 _"Well," Meraya sighed setting the block down, which Chancellor Paige frowned at, "Usually I just start out with the most obvious answer to the problem, then work out everything that could go wrong or change from that one solution. By finding the problems with my original guess, I can find out the best way to solve it." Meraya glanced up at the chancellor and picked the cube back up, solving the puzzle in just a few seconds._

 _Chancellor Paige sat back in her seat, with a proud smile on her face. She was very impressed with the girl's deductive skills, especially at such a young age. "Very good Meraya, you may go now." Meraya hopped off the chair that was just a little to high still, and headed off to where the other children sat. Paige watched her go with an analytic eyes. "She's either going to bring us great success, or destroy everything." Paige tapped the tiny screen of her watch, engaging a speaker. "Keep an eye on that one, she could be our greatest asset or our downfall."_

 _End Flashback_

Yes, the star child of WICKED, well one of them anyway, was being sent into the Maze. She was seen as a threat but we should start at the beginning. It may have began at age ten that Chancellor Paige had an eye out for the girl with too sharp a mind, but the catalyst didn't come until much later at sixteen, right when the Trials began.


	2. Chapter 2

Meraya sat in front of her desk, transparent screen before her, lit with statistics found in the earliest phases of the Maze Trails. Her amber eyes scanned the data, her brow creased with worry, bottom lip drawn between her teeth. These facts, this wouldn't work. Meraya shook her head, going over it again and again in her head. No matter how many times she went over the data, she was coming to the same solution.

With a heavy sigh, Meraya dropped her head into her hands, scrubbing her face. "Shit." She breathed. Propping her chin on the palm of her hand, her eyes floated over to the pods holding her friends…well they used to be her friends, now they were just experiments to be used in testing she wasn't even sure about any longer. Meraya stood, slowly making her way to the water pods. She slowly walked passed each face, sadness filling her heart. What was she doing? Why was she, in essence, torturing innocent children? Her steps faltered when she passed an all too familiar face. His sharp features, thick dirty blonde hair cut haphazardly and choppy. He always did like to do it himself. His eyes were closed, like he was sleeping peacefully, but Meraya knew the truth. "…Newt, I'm so sorry." Meraya bit her lower lip and turned away. She couldn't do this anymore. She didn't know how or when, but she was going to do something about this.

In the shadow of the room, a boy stood watching the bronze-skinned girl. His face was twisted into an expression of confusion. He watched at Meraya stood from her desk, walking over to the water pods. His head tilted for a better view of what she was doing. She was… apologizing? Now he was more confused than ever. Why would she be apologizing for trying to save everyone? What they were doing wasn't something they should be apologizing for. They should be getting thanked!

The boy furrowed his brow with a frown, arms crossed. He watched Meraya walk away but an uneasy feeling started in the pit of his stomach. Was what they were doing really the right thing?

"Thomas!" the boy jumped at the sound of his name. He whipped around, heart racing as his eyes searched for the person the voice belonged to. He visibly relaxed when his eyes fell on the familiar face of his friend Teresa. Her long black hair fell around her face perfectly, blue eyes blazing as they always did. Now he wasn't so sure his heart was racing from fright.

"What are you doing?" she asked, blue eyes watching him quizzically.

"Oh! Nothing! Nothing." Thomas answered quickly, suddenly ready to flee the area. He let out a nervous laugh only making Teresa all the more skeptical.  
"You weren't spying on Meraya again, were you?" Thomas blinked at the slight disgust in Theresa's voice as she said Meraya's name. Teresa always held some form of contempt for the other girl, but Thomas never understood why really. She was exceptionally smart, and really sweet when you get the chance to talk to her.

"No of course not." Thomas lied easily. Teresa seemed to relax, flashing a too sweet smile.

"Then let's go! It's late and we need to be up early tomorrow. It's the big day!" Teresa grabbed on to Thomas' arm and for the first time, his heart didn't race because of her and butterflies didn't fill his stomach either. Instead, dread filled his heart, his stomach turning sour. Thomas glanced back at the monitor room thinking of Meraya. Was what they were doing really the right thing?


	3. Chapter 3

Today was the day. The Trials were beginning. There was an excited buzz throughout the entire facility but Meraya didn't feel it. Instead she felt apprehension and disgust, at herself for letting this happen, when she knew. She knew in the deepest parts of her being that this wouldn't work. They weren't meant to fix it, to fix anything.

Meraya tried to stay in bed for as long as she could. She didn't really get any sleep at all. Her eyes stared at her white ceiling for most of the night. At some point she was pretty sure she had dozed off but not for long. Her alarm blared loudly next to her, forcing her to tear her eyes from the white emptiness of her ceiling and tapping the snooze button. Meraya groaned as she sat up, sitting at the edge of her bed, dread filling every bone in her body.

Forcing herself up, Meraya went to her closet and got ready for her day. She pulled on her navy skinny jeans, a black vneck fitted shirt and her favorite grey knitted cardigan. She sighed softly as she slipped into her moccasins and pulled her curly hair into a slicked back messy bun on top of her head. Shuffling to the bathroom in the early morning hours, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, spritzing herself with body spray. A cure for body odor had been created a number of years ago but Meraya just loved the smell of warm vanilla sugar. Feeling only slightly better by the comforting smell of vanilla, Meraya exited her room.

All of WICKED's staff was gathered in the medical rooms. Thirty boys were lined up on tables and Meraya felt her stomach lurch. She knew in the room next door, thirty girls were lined up just like this. They were all knocked out cold, unaware of the things they were going to have to go through, with people watching their every move, studying their every brain wave.  
Meraya shook these thoughts from her mind as Chancellor Paige appeared on the largest monitor in the room. Meraya plastered a fake smile on her lips as their organizer appeared and a live feed was being transferred between them and her.

"Welcome everyone…to a new beginning!" There was an uproar of cheers in the room and for a moment Meraya thought they might wake the boys but she knew that was impossible. They had the best anesthesia known to man and nothing was waking those boys up before it wore off.

"Today we will begin the Maze Trials and be one step closer to achieving our goals! We will find a cure and today we beginning our journey!" Chancellor Paige's voice rang out with so much confidence, Meraya began to second guess herself. Perhaps she read the data wrong and this could really work, but Meraya knew better. She had ran every possible scenario and she knew the truth of it all.

The monitor switched off and the masks above the beds the boys were laying on lowered. They covered everyone's face as wires extended, entering through the boys ear canal. Some boys groaned, other twitched ever so slightly as everyone they ever knew, every experience was taken from them. Meraya clenched her jaw, hands balling into fists at the treatment of her friends. Calming herself, she took a deep breath.

As they procedure was wrapping up, Meraya felt eyes on her. Glancing to her right she made eye contact with Thomas. He seemed to freeze in place as she captured him with her gaze. She recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same emotion she had felt last night and even more so now. Uneasiness. He knew it was wrong just like she did. Her heart pounded within her chest as she reached out to him, she wasn't alone in this.

 _Thomas._ Her voice was strong, confident as she spoke inside the boys mind for the first time.

Thomas's eyes widened as he forced himself to breath evenly. He broke eye contact, mind racing. Only he and Theresa could do this right?! That's what they were told, so how could Meraya speak to him so easily.

 _Thomas we need to talk._ Again, her voice echoed inside his mind clear as day. He looked back up, eyes locking with hers once more. He nodded slightly and Meraya flashed a smile, one he wouldn't soon forget.

In just over two hours, the boys were placed in the Box and being sent to the maze. Meraya stood, watching as the box raised up. It was only a few hundred feet, but they manipulated the Box to make it seem much much longer, another thing to test their psyche's. Meraya turned, hoping she was making the right decision.

 _Thomas, meet me in my room. 5 minutes._


	4. Chapter 4

"….they're almost to the top. Only a few more minutes and we'll finally be able to get the information we need. Can you believe it?! Finally after all this time we can save everyone. I'm so excited! Aren't you Thomas?...THOMAS!" Teresa's voice cut through Thomas's daydreaming. "Were you even listening?" Theresa whined, a pout forming on her lips.

"Uh…no." He answered truthfully, wincing at the rage flaring up in Teresa's eyes. She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he cut her off before she even began, lifting his hand and shaking his head. "Actually Theresa, I'm not feeling so good so I'm gonna go to my room." Thomas stood, without even waiting for an answer and walked away. Teresa stood dumbfounded as she watched him leave. He had been acting strangely recently and she debated telling Chancellor Paige. If things got weirder, she would report it. Theresa shook her head in agreement with herself.

Thomas entered his room, flopping onto his soft mattress, rebounding after his initial landing before settling in. Flipping onto his back he stared at the ceiling. "What the hell are we doing to them?" He asked no one in particular. He glanced at his alarm clock, thinking back to the medical room. She had spoken to him in his mind! Thomas was sure only he and Theresa had that ability. It was given to them at a very young age, even though he had struggled with it at first. Could they have given it to Meraya first and not told him? Thomas supposed there was really no need for him to know, but he couldn't help wonder who her partner was. What guy was lucky enough to talk to her like that? It was very intimate and Thomas found himself growing restless at the idea.

"The hell Thomas." Pulling himself from those thoughts, he needed to focus on what was important. He needed to focus on what Meraya wanted to talk about. He thought back to the uneasiness he felt during the commencement of the trials. Up until last night, Thomas had been so sure of what he was doing. If anyone had asked him, he would have been on hundred and ten percent steady in his beliefs, but now…he wasn't so sure.

 _Thomas meet me in my room. 5 minutes._ Her voice was so clear in his mind, Thomas was curious as to why it felt so natural to him. Checking the clock, he got up and discarded his lab coat he always seemed to be wearing. He traded it in for a more confortable V-neck button up sweater. Checking himself in the mirror he felt nervous. He ruffled his hair, trying to get it to lay just the right way, smoothing out his shirt and jeans until he felt presentable. That feeling never game so he gave up with a sigh and headed to the girls room.

Thomas couldn't remember ever speaking to Meraya directly but he knew her. They all knew each other but Thomas never really spent time with anyone other than Theresa. Perhaps that could explain his nervousness. He nodded to himself. That was definitely the reason butterflies tore through his stomach and his palms began to sweat. All too soon, Thomas found himself in front of Meraya's door. He swallowed, steadying his frayed nerves and raised his fist to knock, just as he did, the door slid open and Meraya appeared, perched on the edge of her bed, legs crossed indian style, fiddling with a rubix cube.

Meraya's head snapped up when the doors opened. Seeing Thomas, she smiled and waved him in. He hesitantly stepped through the door and stood awkwardly near the entrance.  
"So uh, what…what do you want to talk about?" Thomas asked, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"We both know this is wrong Thomas."Meraya got right to the point, shocking Thomas. It was one thing to be uneasy but to reject everything they've ever known was still quite a shock to his system.

"What do you mean?" Thomas furrowed his brow, moving to sit next to Meraya. "This is the way! We can save everyone with these trials Meraya!" Thomas stressed the importance the best he could but he knew she had already made up her mind.

"Thomas I ran every scenario I could possibly think of! It won't work! We are taking innocent children and torturing them for what? To save people we've already lost!" Meraya searched his eyes for understanding but found none. "Don't you see? There's no hope for people. We weren't meant to survive this. If you aren't already immune naturally…" Meraya didn't even finish her sentence, memories of her younger brother flashing in her mind. He wasn't born immune like her. He got sick right before Meraya was brought here and she never knew what became of her little brother.

"WICKED is good." Thomas whispered softly. "WICKED is good and we're going to find a cure." Thomas said it stronger the second time. With that he stood and walked out of Meraya's room, but if anything, his beliefs were even more shaken than they were when he entered. "WICKED is good." He reminded himself on his way back to his room

That night neither Meraya nor Thomas got any sleep, the Trials weighing too heavily on both of their minds.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a year and a half since the Maze Trials began. Meraya had to force herself out of bed every day, put on a fake smile, and mull through her day. Only six months into the trial, Meraya had found hope. Every night she would access a radio wavelength of a budding organization. She listened in silently for the first few months, learning their objectives and judging on how realistic their ideals were. It was a rebel group calling themselves the Right Arm. After just a few moths Meraya had made contact and now a year later it was time to put up or shut up.

For almost a year, Meraya had been leaking information about WICKED to the rebel group. She told them about the testing, the facility, and their beliefs. At first it was difficult for either side to trust each other but after time, and little crumbs of top secret information every now and then, Meraya knew she could trust them to end WICKED if she was ever caught.

Now Meraya sat in front of her screen, watching the Gladers, a name the teens had given themselves, analyzing their every move. Once a month a new boy was given up as a new guinea pig. It broke Meraya's heart every time she watched a boy be sedated and sent up to the Maze. An unsolvable maze.

Ever since that night in her room a year and a half ago, her and Thomas hadn't spoken, not face to face anyways. Occasionally Meraya would reach out telepathically and tell him what they were doing was wrong, that they had to stop it. He would glance at her, but not respond. She could see the conflict in his eyes, she could see the doubt grow on his features but he was loyal. Meraya knew why he was their favorite male, Thomas was extremely hard to crack.

Meraya glanced at Thomas, who sat across from her through the translucent screen. He looked up, their eyes locking and Meraya knew he was close to breaking. Thomas had paused in his work and she couldn't help wondering what he saw in her eyes. Did he see her hopelessness and despair? Did he see that soon, in only a few hours she was going to make the biggest decision of her life to stop WICKED? And if he did, would he say anything?

 _What are you thinking?_ It was the first time Meraya had heard his voice in her mind ever and it was…strange. It was like it belonged there but it was also foreign. She kept her gaze locked as she answered.

 _I can't tell you that Thomas._ He frowned hearing her answer.

 _You're going to do something really stupid aren't you._ Meray snorted a silent laugh, glancing down as a cynical smile graced her lips.

 _Yeah probably…_

 _Don't._ Thomas snapped, but it wasn't with anger. Meraya looked back up at Thomas, both having forgotten the work in front of them. _Don't do it. They'll never forgive you._

 _I don't need their forgiveness Thomas, I need the Gladers forgiveness._

 _And if they hurt you?! What then Meraya?! What if they put you in the Maze as punishment, you can't help them then!_ Meraya hesitated. She had never thought about the consequences of what she was doing, only the possible benefits.

 _I have to try. I can't let them do this to us anymore, not when I know it won't work Tommy. If they send me in then I'll just-_

 _JUST WHAT?!_ Meraya jolted as his scream echoed in her mind, forming a small headache. The anger and..fear?..were clear on Thomas's face and Meraya felt guilty for causing him stress but she had to. She had to help them.

 _I'll deal with it when I'm in there. I'm sorry._ Meraya cut off the conversation, looking away from Thomas and putting all of her focus on her screen, analyzing the information here for what could be her last day here, and she was prepared for that.

Thomas watched Meraya get back to work like she had never spoken to him at all. He had so many emotions running through him, he wasn't sure what he felt the most. He was angry at her for being so stubborn and stupid. She couldn't stop the Trials, they were necessary and there were far too many people in WICKED for her to get away with shutting it down. On the other hand he was scared to death for her. He knew it was nearly inevitable for her to get caught, and that thought terrified him to his very core. WICKED may be trying to save the world but they were also a ruthless organization at heart and he knew that. _I don't want them to take you from me…_ but he didn't let her hear it. He couldn't let her hear that part because not even Thomas knew what he meant by it.


	6. Chapter 6

All too soon, or maybe not soon enough, the work day was over. Meraya wasn't really sure what time it was when she turned off her monitor. She sat silently, mulling over her decision in her mind. Even if she wanted to go back, it was too late. Pushing the chair back, Meraya stood and looked around at the room around her. Instead of the reassurance it had given her once upon a time, it now disturbed her. There was something evil hidden within WICKED's walls, she knew it.

Meraya left the room, heading to her room. She heaved a sigh, tossing off the sweater she had been wearing. She traded in her jeans and tshirt, for a grey fitted tank and baggy black sweat pants. Her hair lay in two French braids, parted down the middle, sneakers adorning her feet. Meraya sat up for hours, waiting for the Right Arm's message.

Finally, it came around midnight. They used morse code to communicate. It was an old language that Meraya knew most WICKED staff had no knowledge of. It was dead in their eyes anyway. Meraya's heart pounded as she pulled out the files she had been collecting over the past year. She had created a secure mail line a few months back and now she slipped out of her room, heading down the vast expanse of hallways towards the front of the WICKED compound. There she met with her messenger, Ronaldo. She never did tell him where the mail was being sent, and he never asked. Ronaldo just took it to the post and it was sent through a secure line set up by Meraya and the Right Arm.

Chancellor Paige frowned as she watched the surveillance camera in her office. She knew Meraya would be a problem. She was too smart for her own good and now she had betrayed them. Paige had known for some time that Meraya had been talking with the Right Arm, she wasn't sure what information was being shared, and had held out hope that the young prospect would hold fast to their motto, WICKED is good.

Paige clenched her jaw as Meraya handed the package off to the mail carrier. Paige knew he was none the wiser in the scheme and by the time guards could apprehend Meraya it would be too late to capture the mail man, she had to make a choice. Capture the information, or the informant. Paige made her decision.

Tapping the microphone on her desk, Chancellor Paige leaned forward. "Apprehend Meraya Young. Bring her to the med room." Her voice was emotionless as it spoke through the guards headsets.  
"Yes ma'am" the head of security confirmed their order and a group of two men and two women set off jogging down the halls.

Meraya was only a few feet from her room when two guards came out in front of her. She paused, confused. She turned and saw another two behind her and Meraya knew, she was caught. Fear bubbled up inside of her and fought the urge to flee. It was useless anyways.

As the guards grabbed her by her arms, dragging her down the hall, despair filled her stomach. Meraya's eyes widened as they approached the med room. A thousand scenarios ran through her mind. They could kill her, erase her memories and send her into the scorch, paralyze her and leave her to the cranks, or…Thomas' words rang out in her mind now, they could put her in the Maze.

Meraya was tossed onto one of the medic beds and as the guards began to tie down her arms and legs, survival instinct kicked in. Meraya kicked and flailed but to no use, she was tied down in a manner of seconds. Not too long afterwards, the clicking of heels could be heard as Chancellor Paige made her entrance. "Hello Meraya." The sickly sweet voice of Chancellor Paige.


	7. Chapter 7

Meraya glared above her as Paige's face came into view. A burning hatred filled her as she looked into the aged face of the Chancellor. "You know what you've done can't be forgiven." The Chancellor walked around the edge of the bed Meraya lay on, a plan forming in the older woman's mind. "So what should we do with you?" Chancellor Paige paused at the end of the bed. "There's always exile, but then you'll go running off to the Right Arm with all of our secrets. We could wipe your memory first but you're too resourceful." Paige resumed her slow, predatory walk around Meraya until a thought formed, and an evil grin broke out over her face. "You can go into the Maze. Before Meraya could respond, a doctor was pulled into the room by a guard. She was frazzled, hair a mess, and extremely confused. When she saw Meraya on the table, she looked up to the Chancellor for answers.

"Put her under, she's going in." Paige demanded as she made her exit.

Meraya was left alone with the doctor but could find no words that could possibly save her. She watched helpless as the confused doctor carried out her orders and the mask was lowered over her face. _I had to do it Thomas._

Thomas was woken up by a haunting echo of Meraya's voice in his mind. His eyes fluttered open as he turned his head to his alarm clock. It was about two in the morning but he felt something was off. He reached out to Meraya with his mind to only find emptiness, and that scared him.

"Everyone please meet in the Monitor room in five minutes." Chancellor Paige's voice rang out through the halls of WICKED, sending a chill down Thomas's spine. Something went wrong with Meraya's plan, Thomas knew she shouldn't have gone through with it!

Thomas threw off his sheets, changing as quickly as he could. He didn't wait for Teresa as he all but ran to the Monitor room. About a hundred or so employees sat around, discussing what this early morning meeting could be about, a subject Thomas already knew.

"Hey Thomas, why didn't you wait for me?" Teresa appeared on Thomas's left but he couldn't spare her a glance. He murmured a quick "Sorry," his eyes glued to the screen directly in front of them.

Instead of Chancellor Paige's face appearing on one of the many monitor's in front of them, she walked into the room. A collective gasp sounded, as for many of the employees here, this was their first time seeing the famed woman.

"Today, we have something special happening. Due to…certain circumstances, one of our own will be entered into the Maze as another Variable to test the minds of the brightest young people we could find. Here we will watch as she ascends to the Maze and track her progress just as we have with all of the others." Paige smiled as a stunned silence filled the room. Every monitor in the room switched on, lighting up the previously dark room.

Thomas winced as the light forced his eyes to dilate. He gasped as an image of Meraya, mask lowering over her face was relayed around the room. An emotion he never experience filled his heart as he watched Meraya having her memories ripped from her mind without anesthesia. Her hands balled into fists as she tried, somewhat successfully, to keep from twitching. Groans escaped every now and then, each one slicing into Thomas. This was….inhumane!

Just a few minutes later and Meraya was being carried towards the Box. Her limp body was tossed uncaringly into the metal container. Thomas felt anger flare at her treatment. She meant nothing to WICKED, and suddenly Thomas understood everything she had been trying to tell him this past year. WICKED wasn't good. They used people and destroyed lives without worrying about the repercussions of their actions. They were corrupted.

"Hm. Well whatever she did to get sent into the Maze, she probably deserved it. She always caused trouble and hindered the Trials. Besides, WICKED wouldn't do something unnecessary." Teresa spoke, sounding happy that Meraya was being sent away. Thomas couldn't stop himself. He snatched Teresa's arm, tugging her to him, nose to nose, eyes alight with rage.  
"You don't know a damn thing about her." Thomas growled. He didn't know where this anger was coming from or why, but the way Teresa spoke about Meraya constantly had pushed him to his tipping point.

"Ow, Thomas that hurts." Teresa struggled against his iron grip, fear beginning to fill her. She had never seen him so angry. "What's your problem?" She huffed as he let her go, snatching her arm back. Fear began to be replaced by anger. Why was he so sensitive about that girl anyways, he didn't even know her!

"Don't talk about her again. Ever." Thomas ground out. He turned on his heels and exited the room. He felt sick to his stomach and couldn't spend another second in that room. At that moment, he knew he had to do something, and that something would probably land him the same fate as Meraya, but something told him that it would be different, that he needed to be sent in there.


	8. Chapter 8

Meraya woke up to pitch blackness. Her head pounded as she tried to figure out where she was. There was the squeaky sound of steel cables slowly but surely moving this box upwards. Meraya moved to her hands and knees, feeling around the area around her. She was completely enclosed in what felt like a metal grate. Her hands found wooden boxes, nailed shut so they were of no use. Sighing, she stood, using some of the stacked boxes for support. Meraya turned her head to the left and right trying to see. Her eyes had adjusted so now she was able to see the general shapes of objects. The box was nearly full, for what she didn't know.

The box slammed to a stop with a loud screech throwing Meraya off balance and throwing her onto her hands and knees again. Her heart rate picked up at the unknown destination that awaited her. Just then, a sliver of blinding light cracked in a straight line above her. Meraya shielded her eyes with her hand, scooting back behind some boxes from the unknown.

Voice floated down to her as the light encompassed more and more of what used to be the ceiling. The doors slammed to the ground once they were fully opened.

"Hey, where's the new greenie?" a voice called out. It sounded young, but definitely male.

"Maybe we didn't get one this month." Another disembodied voice offered.

"Nah, we always get a greenie."

"Maybe they're scared and hiding. Hey little greenie you scared!" a gruff male voice cackled at their own joke.

Meraya grimaced as her eyes adjusted to the light. She didn't understand half of what these boys were saying at all. She kept her place, hidden behind a few boxes as faces started to encroach on the opening.

"Everyone, shuck it and be quiet. You're scaring the greenie. Newt, find em'." A new voice came, clearly the leader. It held total authority with every word. Meraya could hear the feet shuffling as people moved back. Feeling a little more comfortable, she stood.

Newt hopped down into the box. His eyes scanned the area looking for their new greenie. They got one every month and today should be no exception. A movement to his right caught his attention. "Oi greenie we were just looki…." Newt's voice caught in his throat as he realized exactly who, or more importantly what, their new greenie was. "Alby! Get down here. You're not gonna shucking believe this!" Meraya winced at the sudden shout, shrinking back from the boy with thick, dirty blonde hair.

Before she had time to react, a tall, muscular black boy hopped into the box making it sway slightly. "What is it Newt?" he asked sounding annoyed. Newt just nodded in Meraya's direction and Alby froze. Meraya looked between the two stunned boys. Apparently they were shocked to silence by her, for what reason she didn't know.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Meraya mumbled, her naturally defensive nature showing. She frowned, crossing her arms and backing up from the boys.

"You-You're a girl, greenie." Newt stuttered, still coming to terms with this new development.

"Yeah…duh." Meraya said matter-of-factly.

"We've only ever had boys come in the box, greenie." Alby explained. "Look, just come on up, we'll explain everything. And maybe we'll figure out why they sent a shuck girl here."

Meraya stared hard as the black boy, the leader, pulled himself out of the box. Newt nodded to the opening, expecting Meraya to follow. She stood her ground, eyeing the opening critically. Her mind counted through the endless scenarios awaiting her out there. Anything could happen but she was better off out there than in this box. Finally, Meraya followed the black boy out, Newt just behind her.

As Meraya surfaced, there was a collective gasp from the crowd of fifty or sixty boys. Shouts of "It's a girl!" and "Wow!" or "I call dibs!" echoed out from the crowd. Every boys face was filled with wonder, none having memories of what a girl looked like or ever having met one, but they knew one when they saw it. Alby stood tall, in the center of the group. His face was stern as he spoke. "No one comes near the greenie until we sort this out." No one dared challenge him as silence fell. "Now get back to work!" Immediately there was a mad dash for all corners of the….wherever Meraya was sent. Only a few people stayed to empty the box as she was led by the large black boy to a rather haphazardly built building.


	9. Chapter 9

Meraya stepped inside the wooden building, taking a quick glance around. It was okay inside. There was a large area when you walked in that look a few yards deep with only one or two windows. It was furnished with the bare minimum, a hand built table in one corner with an old, dying lamp on it. On the other side was a few rickety chairs with uneven legs. In the center was a large staircase, which seemed to be the most stable of constructs in the building. Past the stairs seemed to be more but Meraya didn't get a chance to investigate as Alby had already ascended the staircase and she was getting nudged in the back by Newt to follow. Upstairs was a little landing and then doors lined the walls to either side and it was just as barren as downstairs was.

Alby continued onward to the end of the hallway. He opened the door to his right and motioned for Meraya to enter. "This will be your room. Normal gladers sleep outside, but…." Alby trailed off looking away from Meraya.

"You're not exactly a normal glader." Newt finished as he saw his leader struggling for words. Meraya nodded and looked around the small room. "Alright." She seemed to be in thought, studying her new surroundings.

"Well, tour's tomorrow. Bright and early. Newt'll give it to you. The tour! New will um…give you the tour..tomorrow." Alby trailed off as he blundered through his speech, something very unlike him, but this situation was very unlike normal as well. Newt's face tinged pink as he understood why Alby began to stumble over his words and the boys shuffled towards the door.

"Yeah..Okay." Meraya said eyeing the boys suspiciously. She wasn't sure what was wrong with them but they seemed to not be able to get out fast enough.

Meraya shut the door after they left and walked towards her door. She was unaware of the strange lizard crawling up her wall. Its red eyes trained on her as it scuttled towards a corner. WICKED was stamped on its back. It watched while Meraya ran her fingers over the rough but comforting fabric of the blanket covering her new bed. The pillow was old, but unused. There was a bin on the other side of the room, Meraya assumed it was for dirty clothes, and a desk with a candle on it. Her room as a single window about chest height from the floor.

Thomas let a small smile slip over his features as he watched the screen. Meraya seemed okay. No one had mistreated her and the leader seemed to be nice to her. The churning in Thomas's stomach settled slightly as he watched Meraya inspect her new room. They had never been close while they were here, although she had always intrigued him. She was always alone, doing only what was asked and nothing more.

Thomas thought back to the first time he'd seen her, they were young, and she had just finished the hardest puzzle they had given yet. Thomas had been done for a while and Meraya was the only one left but she hadn't even picked up her pencil. He remembered watching as an administrator asked her why she hadn't started and Thomas would never forget her answer. "Well, there's twenty-three solutions. There's no right answer." Her voice was soft but matter-of-fact and left the administrator and Thomas stunned. Thomas remembered the administrator taking her paper while he looked down at his own. Further study showed there were in fact more than one answer.

Thomas sighed as he watched the screen. Her last words echoed in his mind. _I had to do it._ She didn't even sound apologetic for her actions, just sad. Thomas glanced around the monitor room. Were they really doing the right thing here? Each month they sent a new kid into the maze and it was closing in on the two year mark. They were running out of subjects and Thomas was scared to find out what would happen when they were all gone.

"Damnit Meraya." Thomas breathed. She had messed with his head in a major way and it wasn't even intentional. He had doubted every move WICKED made since they sent her in and it was getting worse. He had to do something. Thomas couldn't just watch kid after kid be sent in anymore. There was this desperation that had been building since Meraya first told him her plan, a desperation to help but fear and blind naivety had stopped him. "I'm coming for you." Thomas whispered before flipping off his monitor and heading to his room. He was going to be sent in for what he was about to do, and he was completely prepared for it.

Meraya pulled off her tank top and pants before slipping into her bed. The blanket scratched at her skin but it was warm. Her stomach grumbled and she realized that she didn't remember the last time she had eaten. Meraya groaned, upset she didn't get food when she had the chance. Meraya flipped on to her side, getting comfortable in her sheets. Even though she had been knocked out for an unknown amount of time, a wave of fatigue swept over her and she was asleep in seconds.


	10. Chapter 10

Meraya woke up to a soft knocking at her door. She groaned, pushing her face into her pillow, willing the knocking to go away. When it didn't stop Meraya pulled herself out of bed and padded softly to the door. Upon opening it, Meraya was met with a smiling Newt.

"Yes?" Meraya asked, voice rough from sleep.

"It's time for the tour." Newt said, a British twang in his words.

"...Okay." Meraya yawned, closing her door. She pulled on her clothes from the previous day and met Newt in the hall. They walked in silence, Meraya still waking up as they moved silently through the halls.

Once they stepped outside, Meraya took a deep breath of the fresh air. It smelled like fresh grass and the slight whiff of manure. Finally getting a good look at her surroundings, Meraya was surrounded by beautiful green grass, trees, and haphazardly built buildings that held a homey feeling. There was a large gap in one of the walls, opening to a never ending expanse of what, Meraya didn't know but she felt drawn.

"Welcome to the Glade." Newt's voice interrupted her thoughts, not that she minded.

"It's beautiful." Meraya muttered softly, eyes still searching the landscape. Newt smiled at her response proudly.

"Well that's a first greenie. C'mon, I'll show you around." Meraya tore her eyes away from the Glade and followed Newt towards a new building with a pen protruding from the side. The grass folded easily beneath their feet, springing back up once they shifted to the next foot.

"This is the Bloodhouse, where the Slicers work, you see, everyone here has a job and the Glade doesn't work if we don't follow the rules." Newt said, seriousness pervading his voice. Meraya nodded in response, a cue for Newt to continue. "Here, we raise the animals and, when it's time, slice them." Almost as if on cue, a pig squealed loudly from inside the building only to be cut short with a dimmed thunk. Meraya's face twisted in disgust as bile rose to the back of her throat. The Bloodhouse smelled like manure and blood. A few piglets snorted and rummaged around in the mud. Cows mooed every so often, getting restless in their pens.

Newt smirked at her reaction and led her away from the slaughterhouse. "Next up is the gardens, Trackhoes work here, they plant, water, pick weeds, anything to do with gardening. We get all of our fruit and vegetables here." Newt explained as they stepped closer. This placed smelled like manure as well, but not as strongly as the Bloodhouse had. The whole area was a beautiful leafy green, intermittently broken up by vivid reds and yellows and oranges of fruits and vegetables.

For the next hour and a half, Meraya was led over every inch of the Glade. She visited the Deadheads next, but they stopped at the line of trees. Newt seemed somber as he explained. Meraya got an eerie feeling from the seemingly endless expanse of trees, thankfully they left that area quickly. Newt took her back to the original building they had started from earlier that morning. By now, boys were milling about the Glade, doing their daily tasks they've been assigned.  
"This is the Homestead. A lot happens here, meetings, med-jacks work here, and all of the Keepers, they're the leaders of each job, sleep here. You'll be staying here since you're a girl and all." Meraya had to roll her eyes at the last statement. Boys, always assuming women are weaker without any proof. Meraya could handle herself, but she stayed quiet for now. "Behind the Homestead is the Slammer. Break our rules and you'll be thrown in there, no food." Newt's voice held no friendly nor joking matter.

"So, what are these rules?" Meraya asked.

"There's just three. The first is do your part. Like I said before, this only works if we work together. No slacking. The second is don't harm another glader. That'll get you banished or thrown in the slammer depending. And lastly," Newt stared Meraya down, turning to fully face her, "don't EVER go into the maze. We have people for that and they're chosen special got it? Regular gladers can't go past these walls." Meraya frowned confused.

"Well why not?" She asked.

"The runners go out and map the maze every day looking for a way out-"

"Okay so shouldn't more be better, faster?"  
"NO!" Newt took a deep breath calming himself. "Follow me."  
Meraya sighed, tired of walking but followed nonetheless. They walked to the far wall, near the gap she had seen when they first walked out here. The wall they walked to was covered in vines and moss. Newt pulled the vines away to reveal a small, dirty window. He motioned for Meraya to come closer. Meraya stepped forward, glancing at Newt before she leaned in. On the other side of the window was darkness. She pulled back, eyeing Newt suspiciously like he was pulling some prank on her, but he only motioned her to look again. Meraya stood like that, nose pressed to old glass, for what felt like forever. She was about to call it when flashing light caught her eye. They were blue and red flashing lights, creeping closer and closer. She could hear the faint whir of mechanics followed by what sounded like someone dragging their foot across rubble. Within seconds Meraya saw what was making these sounds. She gasped as she peered at the…creature, if you could even call it that. It was a slimy, bulbous thing, sort of like a slug, parts of it was metal, strange mechanic arms protruding from its fatty skin. The lights would flash, engine would whir, and then it would drag its fat body across the ground. It shook Meraya to look at the thing, not sure of what it was or what it could do. She pulled back, letting the vines fall back into place, mouth agape and eyes wide.

Newt stepped in front of Meraya, face stony. "That is why we don't send just anyone out into the maze. Those things, they're out there and at night the maze doors close so that they can't get in. Usually they're only out at night but…we've had some instances when they weren't. That's what created the Deadheads. You understand now?" Newt searched Meraya's eyes for understand and when she nodded in response, he smiled. "Great now let's get you some food I bet you're starving!

A few months later…

Thomas watched, chewing his thumbnail as Meraya sank into the daily routine of the glade. She was fitting in nicely and Thomas could only wonder if he would acclimate this well. He knew they would find out soon, it was only a matter of time. A month after Meraya was sent in, Thomas decided to finish what she started. When she was found out, Meraya had only gave them the first installment of three packets of WICKED information. Thomas had found the rest, reconnected with the Right Arm, and started sending them the rest of the information.

A knot formed in his stomach as he thought of what would happen once WICKED found out. He knew he would suffer a similar fate as Meraya but he wasn't scared of that. He was scared they might change their minds and NOT send him into the maze. What then? Thomas sighed shaking his head. He switched off his monitor and headed out of the monitor room. Not even one step out the door and the alarms began screaming. Panic erupted as the lingering scientists scurried around, not knowing what was happening, but Thomas knew. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Thomas sprinted out the door, taking the twists and turns of the halls easily. He was searching for someone. Within minutes, he found them.  
"Teresa!" Thomas called out to her out of breath.

"Thomas, what's going on?!" She asked panicked. The last time this happened, Meraya was sent into the maze. "What did you do?!"

"I had to do it, Teresa. This isn't right, we can't let them torture anymore kids." Thomas said, completely sure of himself. Teresa looked appalled and then angry.

"What did she do to you? WICKED is good Thomas! Remember?!" Teresa yelled out over the alarms. Armed men, dressed in all black, stormed the hall they were in, grabbing Thomas by the arms and dragging him backwards.  
"WICKED is wrong, Teresa! WICKED killed the Earth!" Thomas's voice drowned out by the sirens as he was pulled away from Teresa.


	11. Chapter 11

"Another one? Gosh, what is it with these kids and sudden righteousness!" Chancellor Paige sighed as she fell back into her chair. The head administrator stood before her, face stern. He had just informed her of Thomas's treason.

"Well, this could be a good thing, Janson." Paige's face lit up as she sat up straighter. The man in front of her, twisted his face in annoyance and confusion.  
"How?" He asked, nearly spitting the word out.

"Thomas is one of the brightest we have. Meraya is close but she takes too long to make decisions, although her analytical mind is…out of this world!" Paige shook her head almost sadly, "but Thomas, oh he could be it Janson. If we send him in, he could be the key to the cure." Chancellor Paige began to get more and more riled up as her mind worked quickly. "Yes! We will send him into the maze as our number one candidate. Make it happen!" She snapped her fingers and Janson nodded.

Janson was skeptical of Chancellor Paige's idea, but she was the boss so he followed his instructions to the tee. Later that night, Thomas was taken from his cell. Thomas kept a placid face as he was led down the hall and into the medic room. He didn't even flinch as he was administered the paralytic anesthesia, that Meraya had been denied, and put to sleep.

The other scientists watched on as Thomas got his memory wiped clean, unaware of his transgression. They were allowed to believe he was a martyr for the cause, if only to keep moral up around the team. Once the memory wipe was complete, Thomas was tossed into the box and sent up to the maze.

The sun rose that morning in the glade, shining its rays, keeping the glade warm. Meraya got up, like she did every day, and met Newt out in the gardens. She had gone through the job search and was chosen by two Keepers, Zart and Clint. Every other week, Meraya would switch between the gardens and the homestead, where she was a medjack.

"Hey." Newt breathed as he fell into step with Meraya. Over the few months she'd been here, Meraya blended in easily. She noticed how Newt walked with a slight limp, but never mentioned it. If he chose to share, that was his business.

"Morning." Meraya spoke back. She looked up at the sun sighing softly. "We get a new greenie today don't we?" Meraya asked. If she was right it had been about a month since the last greenie, Chuck, arrived. It struck her when he got there. Chuck was considerably younger than the other gladers, and this place was not suited for a kid.

"You're right we do. I shucking forgot!" Newt laughed at himself, patting Meraya on her back. She never would get used to their weird language. The two companions settled into work once they reached the gardens. Meraya got busy picking weeds and Newt was assigned to help chop down a budding tree as it was in the way of an addition to the fields. As they got more and more greenies, they needed more and more space to grow crops to feed them.

Thomas awoke to blackness. He gasped, shooting upright, as his body yanked itself from its comatose state. He had no memory of how he ended up here, but scrambled to figure out where exactly 'here' was. Thomas stumbled to his feet, breathing heavily as he forced the fear and panic that threatened to overwhelm him down. _Okay Thomas, think._ The teen felt around him, hands coming into contact with the smoothed wood of a large box. _Okay boxes. Containers maybe? Am I in a shipment box?_ Thomas' brain struggled to make sense of this bizarre situation. Thomas wiped the sweat forming on his brow and continued to investigate. He found that he was surrounded by metal, wooden boxes, and the incessant sound of cranking chains pulling the container he was in upwards endlessly.

The panic Thomas had fought to keep down surfaced as the realization that he wasn't getting out of this hit him. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" his voice ripped from his throat, echoing around the metal box. Thomas banged on the metal walls of the box as he screamed and screamed for rescue, nothing happened. Thomas fell to the ground, panting as hopelessness replaced panic. Suddenly, the box lurched to a stop, the silence that followed was deafening. Thomas scrambled to his feet as light creased the sky above him, growing larger as voice floated down to him.

The glade was filled with noise as the boys worked like any other day. Around noon, right before lunch, the happy chatter of the glade was pierced by the ear-shattering alarm of the box. Meraya's head snapped towards the opening in the ground. Something felt off about this one, but she couldn't place why. The other boys dropped their tasks immediately, rushing to see who the new greenie was. Meraya hung back, wiping her hands off on her jeans. She calmly made her way over as Newt and Alby pushed through the crowd to meet the newest member of the glade.

Thomas shrank back towards the wall as curious voices bounced around. He was overwhelmed by the amount of faces leering back at him, that he was pinned in his spot.

"Oi! Greenie, come on up here!" A British voice called out over the others. Thomas identified the owner as a tall, thin, dirty blonde boy. Thomas was suspicious but felt it was better than where he was. The British boy pulled him out and not a second later, Thomas was met with a barrage of questions.  
"Hey!" an authoritative voice boomed out from the crowd. Thomas saw a large, black boy with a buzz cut make his way through. "Let the greenie breathe will ya! Act like a bunch of slintheads every time the shuckin' box comes up." The boy growled out clearly frustrated with the other boys.

"Where am I?" Thomas blurted out suddenly full of questions he needed answered. "Who put us here?...W-Why are we here? What-"

"Slim it greenie" The black boy ground out. "Quit askin so many shuckin' questions. Follow me. The rest of ya slintheads, back to work!" The crowd dispersed almost immediately and Thomas assumed he'd found the leader of the group.

"Ignore him, he can be a grouch." The same British accent came from Thomas's left. Turning to see the speaker, Thomas was met with a smile, "Names Newt, that's our ever so charismatic leader, Alby." Thomas nodded absentmindedly as he looked towards the boy who was walking away briskly, not even checking to see if they were following. "What's your name, greenie?" Newt asked as Thomas scanned the area. As his eyes roamed the landscape, they fell on a girl. The sight of her almost shocked him, but not because she was the only female he'd see thus far. No, Thomas was struck by the odd sense of familiarity and…relief?

Before Thomas could think, his feet were moving in the girls' direction. Her dark brown, curly hair flowed down her shoulders as her amber eyes glowed with confusion. Her brows knit together as Thomas approached, but that didn't stop him. It was like he was taken over by someone else as his arms wrapped around her pear-shaped, athletic frame, hugging her closely. "You're okay." Thomas sighed as the scent of her skin soothed the strange butterflies swarming his stomach.

Meraya watched as Alby took control of the situation. She stood a few feet back, Meraya wasn't one to crowd the entrance. At first she'd been curious, hoping for at least one more female to join her. That was never the case. The crowd dispersed pretty quickly and the boy Meraya saw confused her. He was tall, just above average, with sinewy muscles and brown hair. There was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on but it made her stomach twist uncomfortably. A memory surfaced just beyond her reach, itching the back of her mind.

The boy, who was talking with Newt, spotted her and nearly as soon as he did, he marched over. Meraya was stunned, rooted to her spot. She wasn't sure what he was about to do, or why, but there was a clear determination on his face. Meraya expected a lot of things from the stranger but to be wrapped up in his arms, held tightly against his chest, was not one of them. Despite the awareness of being wrapped in a strange boys arms, there was a relief that flooded her. "You're okay." Filtered out to her. Those two words confused her and sent a wave of comfort through her.

Newt walked over to the two apparent companions, suspicion and confusion written across his features. "You two know each other?" His voice cut through whatever had taken the two over and they pulled apart instantly. Thomas looked embarrassed as Meraya studied him curiously.

"No." Meraya said, eyes never leaving Thomas, "But there is something familiar about him." She muttered as an afterthought.

"Alright then. I won't mention this to Alby for now. Might just throw this poor greenie in the Slammer if I did." Newt smirked as Meraya shot him a glare.

"He ain't dangerous or nothin' jeez." Meraya huffed. Thomas shifted uncomfortably as the two talked as if he wasn't there.

"Relax Mer, I ain't gonna tell." Newt laughed patting his friend on the back.

"Don't you have a job to do?" Meraya growled, hating the nickname the boy had given her. She gave Thomas one last glance before heading back to the gardens. Something told her that Thomas was going to bring a whole lot of trouble with him, but she wasn't sure if that was good or bad.


	12. Chapter 12

Thomas watched as the girl turned on her heel and walked away. He fought the urge to go follow her, if not only for the sense of familiarity and normalcy she seemed to project. His attention turned back to Newt as he began to speak to him.

"Well that's it for now greenie. Tour begins tomorrow and you'll start training with the Keeper's to find your place."  
"The Keeper's? Who are they and what do they do? What IS this place?" The questions spilled forth uncontrollably. Newt only held up his hands and shook his head.  
"Tomorrow greenie. Everything will be explained tomorrow." Newt smiled and slapped a comforting hand on Thomas' shoulder. He remembered what it was like to be a greenie, scary but Thomas was holding up pretty well.

Thomas nodded, forcing his numerous questions to stop. Newt dropped his hand, and sighed. He turned and headed off, leaving Thomas to his own devices. Thomas stood, slowly turning in a circle. The maze was immense, the grey walls towering over him, making him dizzy as they seemed to touch the sky. Thomas felt like his lungs were being squeezed at the enormity of it all. The glade seemed to stretch on forever around him.

"Hey! Greenie!" Thomas turned at the voice only to be met with a hard shove. Thomas fell to the ground, gasping for air as the wind was knocked out of him. "Don't think I don't know who you really are." The unfamiliar voice seethed. Thomas scrambled backwards on his hands as he found the owner of the voice. He was a muscular boy, pale skin, and cropped hair. He appeared to be fifteen with an ugly sneer and an even uglier face. "You're trouble and I'm gonna keep an eye on you greenie. I've seen you before, with them." His scratchy voice spat out the last word, his rancid breath hitting Thomas like a punch.  
Thomas was left on the ground as the boy disappeared just as fast as he had come. Now utterly confused, and slightly frightened, Thomas pulled himself to his feet. "Don't worry about him." A young voice said. Thomas nearly groaned. He was getting tired of people appearing out of nowhere. Thomas turned to find an even younger boy, possibly around eleven or twelve. He was thick, with a round, cherub face and thick curly hair. "Name's Chuck." The boy said holding out a chubby hand.

Thomas eyed him and shook the boys' hand. "I was the greenie till you came. Good thing too, now they'll leave me alone and you can be the greenie." This Chuck kid sure did talk a lot. Maybe Thomas could get some answers from him.  
"So, where exactly am I?" Thomas asked, following Chuck.

"They call it the glade. Only been here a month so, afraid I won't be much help." Chuck explained as he walked along.  
"Who was that guy?" Thomas asked.

"Him? Oh, that's just Gally. He's a hothead so just ignore him." Chuck explained. He kept stealing quick glances at Thomas. Thomas could tell he was trying to be sly about it, but it wasn't working at all.

"What? I got something on my face?"Thomas sighed. Chuck stumbled, surprised he'd gotten caught.

"N-No, just, you seem pretty calm for a greenie." Chuck answered, "I was crying almost every night when I got here. Meraya really helped me through it." Chuck said her name with a fondness.

"Who?" Thomas asked although he was sure he knew the answer.  
"The only shuck girl in this place." Chuck answered, although the glader slang sounded strange coming from him. Thomas nodded, silent for once. His eyes scanned the glade for her and found her over by the gardens.

"She's the only girl?"

"Yup. No one knows why." Chuck said. Thomas felt a memory try to surface. He reached for it only to have it disappear, to his immense frustration. Thomas' stomach growled loudly causing both him and Chuck to pause.  
"We can go get you some food from Frypan, he's our cook," Chuck offered, "When's the last time you ate greenie?" Thomas frowned at the nickname that was quickly getting on his nerves. He tried to think back to his last meal only to be met with nothing. His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach letting out a long growl and both he and Chuck headed for the Homestead to eat.

Meraya finished her work for the day just in time for dinner. Her stomach ached with hunger as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, smearing dirt from her glove. Tossing her gloves in the collection bin, Meraya made her way to the kitchen. She was met on her way by Newt as they normally ate together. Newt was her best, and only, friend. Meraya got along well with the other gladers, but Newt was the one she chose to spend time with. He was respectful, unlike the others, and never once tried to hit on her, a key factor to their friendship. The only other boy in the glade she was close to was Chuck. He was like a little brother to her, as she had helped him get through the initial shock of the glade.

They got their dinner from Frypan, which consisted of chicken, potatoes, and corn, and found a table in the back corner. Newt sat across from her as Meraya settled in her favorite spot right in the corner next to the wall. She never liked having her back to the gladers, it just made her uneasy. It wasn't long after they began eating that the new boy showed up, led in by Chuck. Meraya's eyes traveled over his frame, that same familiarity filling her. Newt noticed the staring and followed her gaze.

"Mer's got a crush aye?" He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. Meraya almost threw her potatoes at him. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "That's not it," she murmured, "he's just….too familiar. I get this weird feeling about him Newt, like things are about to change." Newt's smile faded at the weird message. He knew Meraya, new when she was joking just to freak him out, this wasn't one of those times.

"What do you mean?" Newt questioned, leaning forward in case they had any unwanted listeners.

"I'm…I'm not sure, but I don't think it's gonna be a bad change Newt, I think…" Meraya frowned, shaking her never. "Never mind." Meraya turned back to her food, trying to force her strange thoughts away. Before she could take another bite, the familiar voice of Chuck rang out.

"Hey, Mer!" Meraya rolled her eyes, sending a glare at Newt for giving her that nickname, to which he only flashed a smile. "Mind if we sit here?" He chirped as he slid in next to her.  
"We?" Meraya didn't need Chuck to answer as the new kid slid in next to Newt. They locked eyes again and Meraya felt like the wind was knocked out of her. His eyes, there was something in his eyes that just….she didn't have a word for it. Newt cleared his throat, breaking whatever connection had just happened, snapping Meraya and Thomas to the present.

"So, greenie, how's the first night in the glade treating you?" Newt asked.

"Oh, um, it's alright I guess." Thomas decided to keep the incident with Gally between him and Chuck. "What's outside the walls though?" The walls had intrigued Thomas since he had arrived earlier that day. He had seen two or three boys come sprinting from outside them and just felt drawn. Thomas watched as Meraya, Newt, and Chuck exchanged worried glances. Newt opened his mouth to answer, but Meraya beat him to it.

"The maze."


	13. Chapter 13

"Meraya!" Newt hissed. "That was supposed to wait until the tour." Meraya could tell Newt was mad but she couldn't care less.

"Oh he was gonna find out sooner or later, what's the difference." Newt sat back, a frown etched into his face.

"What's the maze?" Thomas asked, this time specifically asking Meraya, but Newt interrupted.  
"You'll find out tomorrow." Newt said, sending a pointed look to Meraya, who only rolled her eyes.

Dinner finished up rather uneventfully and everyone went their own ways. Meraya went towards the edge of the Deadheads, while Newt went to set up for the bonfire they threw for each new greenie. Thomas had disappeared with Chuck and Meraya finally got her well-loved, but rarely found alone time. She looked up towards the clear night sky, the stars shining brilliantly. Something about the glade had always felt so artificial. Meraya always had an intense desire to just bolt out into the maze and escape, but rules were rules and if she wanted to survive, she was better off following them.

Meraya sighed, glancing over at the growing fire. The boys were already getting roudy and it hadn't been more than ten minutes. _Gally must have made that drink again._ No one really knew what was in it, other than Gally himself of course, but boy was it strong. Meraya let a soft smile form as she watched the boys of the glade sing and dance. They had started up their little shoving game. They swore to her it was much more complex than that but, in reality, it was a shoving match. Meraya watched from a few yards away as Thomas was thrown in. She could tell by his face something was making him angry. Meraya winced as Gally shoved him a little too hard and Thomas knocked his head hard. He lay there for a few seconds, immobile and worry began to set in. Meraya made a move to get up, but Thomas scrambled to his feet.

"Thomas!" he shouted, a smile breaking out. "My name is Thomas!"

The crowd cheered, chanting his name. The smile on Thomas' face was infectious and Meraya found herself smiling too. She settled back down, watching the boys. Thomas wandered off with Newt and Meraya was, once again, alone with her thoughts.

The bonfire was beginning to die down and Thomas felt sleep begin to pull at him. Newt had long since left and Thomas figured it was time to call it a day too. He stood, stretching his limbs and left the warmth of the dying bonfire. As he made his way towards the sleeping area, he spotted a familiar figure by the trees, curious, Thomas walked over. As he got closer he saw it was Meraya. He found himself thankful for this opportunity, maybe they could figure out this weird connection they had.

"Hey." Thomas breathed, standing a few feet away.

"Hey." Meraya answered back. She was slightly surprised that he had come over, but offered the spot next to her for him to join. "How was the bonfire?"

"It was fun, I remembered my name." Thomas said with a smile. Meraya smiled back, nudging him softly with her elbow.  
"Yeah I heard, Thomas." Something about the way his name sounded on her lips made him want to hear it again.

"So…." Thomas trailed off, looking up at the sky.

"How do we know each other?" Meraya finished offering a half smile. "I wish I knew." She sighed. Thomas looked at her, feeling the same sort of frustration at not knowing that she felt. It was quiet between the two for a while.

"You feel like home." Meraya whispered absentmindedly.

Thomas looked at her sharply, not sure he had heard her clearly. Meraya looked at Thomas straight on, in the eyes. "I don't know what it is about you, but you're going to change things around here…." Thomas bit his lip worried, what did that mean? "And I'm not sure if that's good or bad just yet." Thomas was stunned to silence as this girl that he had just met, seemed to surprise him each second. Meraya sighed and stood. "You should get to sleep, it's late and that tour is torturously early. Goodnight Thomas." With that, Meraya headed back to the Homestead for the night, leaving Thomas to his thoughts.

Thomas watched her leave, confusion pervading his every thought. There was something about her he couldn't place. She was important to him, that much he was sure about, the strange rush of joy and relief he'd felt when seeing her explained that much, but why she was important to him, he had no idea. Thomas's attention turned to the walls. Just after dinner he had watched them close. Thomas will never forget the claustrophobia that had originally choked him, making him dizzy. It was an awe-inspiring site, but so final is almost terrified him. His eyes scanned the old rocks, covered in ivy and moss. That night, Thomas made a promise to himself. He would get them out of there, if not for himself, then for Meraya.

Thomas was awoken by a hand covering his mouth and a soft whisper of "shhhh." Thomas' first instinct was to panic as his eyes darted around the dim light of morning to find who was holding him down. "Shuck greenie, it's just me." Hearing the familiar accent calmed Thomas immediately. Feeling the change, Newt removed his hand and helped Thomas off the ground.

"Time for the tour!'' Newt said. The tour was much like the one given to Meraya, although she definitely didn't ask as many questions. Newt first showed Thomas the deadheads, since Newt found him by the trees. "This is where we bury the dead." Newt explained, just as somber as ever. He was one of the first, so he remembered everyone to come through and laid to rest. It still hurt.

Next on the list was the Homestead and by the time Newt was to the Gardens, the sun was beginning to rise. Thomas's attention was pulled away from the tour as four boys went sprinting into the maze. "Who're they?" Thomas asked, not even paying the slightest attention to what Newt had been saying. Newt followed his gaze and frowned.

"Get it out of that shuck brain of yours greenie. No one goes into the maze, not less you're a runner." Newt explained.

"Well how to I get to be one?" Thomas asked. Newt had begun walking away and Thomas had to jog to catch up.

"You don't just join. You gotta be picked, and that ain't gonna happen." Newt sighed hoping Thomas would drop it. Of course, he didn't.

"Well why not?" Thomas shot back. Newt stopped in his tracks turning around with an angry face. "Because greenie, you can't just go off into the maze alright. There are things out there, dangerous and only the fastest of us go out….not everyone comes back." Thomas was silent, something Newt was grateful for, and they continued their tour. Finally at the end, Newt showed Thomas the same window he had shown Meraya. However, there was one difference. Instead of deterring Thomas from wanting to be a runner, it only reinforced it.

The day passed by rather quickly and Meraya found herself eating dinner with Newt, Chuck and Thomas. There was a somber feeling to the dining hall. Newt kept glancing at the maze walls. Meraya would follow his gaze every so often and many of the other gladers seemed just as antsy and unnverved. That morning, Alby had gone into the maze with Minho, the Keeper of the runners. Meraya wasn't sure why, but neither had come back. They finished dinner and the gladers began to surround the wall, one by one, after they finished eating.

Meraya sat on the ground, legs crossed as Newt bounced from foot to foot on her left. Thomas was on her right, wringing his hands. She was slightly surprised at his amount of worry for two boys he barely knew. Chuck stood behind her, gripping her shoulder in his hand. Hours passed and there was no sign of them. Now, it was just Newt, Chuck, Thomas and Meraya. They were the only ones who had held out. Newt sighed and shook his head, giving up. "They're not coming back." The sadness in his voice tore through Meraya as she and Thomas watched Newt limp away. She glanced at Thomas, seeing his own distress at the situation.

"They're here!" Chuck's voice echoed around the glade. Everyone's head snapped towards the entrance. Minho had just turned the corner, Alby's slumped figure hanging from Minho's shoulder. A crowd had formed in front of the entrance, shouting encouragement for Minho to make it. Alby slipped from Minho's grasp and thudded to the ground. Minho grabbed Alby's arm and began to drag his body. The doors let out a deep click, unhinging from their hold. They were running out of time.

 _Go._ Meraya heard a voice in her mind. _Go out there._ It was Thomas.

Minho grunted in fear and frustration as the large doors began to slide shut. Panic rose in the gladers voices. No one had ever survived the ngiht out there. If they were trapped, they were dead.

 _GO! MOVE!_ Meraya felt her body step forward, but she stopped herself. She looked at Thomas but his eyes were trained on Minho and Alby. _HELP THEM!_ And then Meraya realized they weren't her thoughts, they were his. She saw how his body tensed and she knew, Meraya knew her was going out there.

"Thomas!" but her voice was drowned out in the screaming. The doors were inching closer and closer by the second.

 _Run!_ Thomas lurched forward into the maze between the closing doors, Meraya just behind him. The doors pressed in on their bodies, forcing them to scuttle sideways.

 _Thomas!_ Fear shot through Meraya as the doors pressed tightly on her body. Thomas stumbled out of the doors, yanking hard on Meraya's arm. She stumbled forward as the doors locked shut for the night with a heavy thud. Final.

"What did you just do?" Meraya whispered, snatching her arm back, terror filling every part of her. They were stuck in the maze for the whole night.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Newt slammed his fists against the cold rock doors. The other gladers stood silent, in shock of what they had just seen. Meraya and the new greenie just ran out into the maze. On top of that, their leader and the Keeper of the runners were out there two. No one knew what to do.

Eventually, the others scattered, slowly at first, but as reality set in, they knew there was no hope. Newt was slumped against the Maze doors, fists balling up in the dirt as a whole filled his chest, taking away his ability to breathe. Chuck whimpered softly, staring at the doors. Meraya was the closest thing to family he had here, and now she was gone. The two boys sat in the grass, mourning the loss of their friends.

Meraya glared at Thomas, shoving him as hard as she possibly could. How could he be so stupid?! Thomas stumbled back into the maze wall, grunting as his back scratched the rough surface.

"What's your problem?" Thomas asked, frowning at Meraya.

"What's my problem? What's my freaking problem?" Meraya asked incredulous, "My _problem_ is that we're stuck in the maze for the WHOLE NIGHT! Do you get that? We're dead Thomas." Meraya snapped. She paced back and forth, brain spinning through every scenario just so they might, and that was a very slim chance, live.

"What? No no no no, there's gotta be a way out right? It is a maze!" Thomas stressed as the gravity of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks.

"No slinthead, there isn't." Minho muttered, speaking for the first time since their fate was sealed. "We've been in this shuck maze, runnin' every inch of it for two years, ain't no way out." Minho sighed and stood, Alby was in a crumpled heap on the ground.  
"What happened to him?" Thomas asked. Meraya turned her attention to Alby's form, he was a goner in the maze.

"Found a dead griever yesterday, well, we thought it was dead. Took Alby out today to inspect it and the shuck thing sat up and started attackin'. Got Alby in the stomach." Minho recounted the story, letting out a shaky breath as he ran a hand through his hair. He was a tall, muscular Asian boy and one of the fastest boys in the glade. Meraya had talked to him on a number of occasions, but they weren't really close.

A silence fell over the teens, no one knowing what to do or say. The faint whir of a machine caught Meraya's attention. She held a finger up, straining her ears to catch the faint sound again. There. She heard it, a little ways in the distance but it was unmistakable. "They're coming." She whispered, terror jolting through her body.

The other two boys froze, the fear of a Griever attack imminant. Thomas was the first to act. He grabbed Alby's arms and lifted up the boy's upper body. "C'mon we gotta help him, we can't just leave him here."  
Minho looked at Thomas with sad eyes, shaking his head. "It's too late Thomas. Ain't no one ever survive a Griever sting without the serum. We don't know what happens if they don't get it." Thomas looked to Meraya for support but she was torn.

"He's right Thomas, he'll just slow us down." She hated saying it, in fact Meraya despised the words that came out of her mouth but they were the truth.

"Well we can't just leave him!" Thomas said defiantly. Minho shifted to run, the sounds of the Griever inching closer and closer by the second. Meraya was immobile, unable to choose.

"I'm sorry greenie," and without another word, Minho was gone. Meraya watched as his form vanished around a turn and dread filled her.

"Meraya…we can't leave him." Thomas pleaded. Meraya turned to him, looked down at Alby's immobile form, and then back at Thomas. "I know." She heaved a sigh as she shook her head. "If I die, I'll kill you." Meraya mumbled as she helped Thomas shift Alby into a sitting position.

The sounds of the Griever were uncomfortably close and the three of them were out in the open. Thomas scanned the area for any idea, any hiding spot. He looked to Meraya, hoping she had some sort of plan.

"The vines?" She suggested pointing at the thing ropes of green hanging from the walls. It was their best shot seeing as they couldn't escape the Grievers on foot with Alby. Thomas shrugged, grabbing a few vines, yanking on them to test their hold.  
"These'll do." He said and hurried back. "We can tie them around Alby and sort of tie him up there, like a pulley system."

They tied vines around Ably's waist, biceps and thighs. Thomas yanked on the vines and Alby jerked upwards a few inches. Meraya gasped, surprised their idea worked. She ran over to Thomas, helping him hoist Alby upwards. Sweat formed on their brows and their muscles screamed at them to stop. The Grievers were almost there and Alby was about thirty feet in the air.

"We needs something to tie it off." Meraya said, panting. She looked around and notices a protruding rock out of the wall. "There!" She ran over and wrapped the vines around the rock. She made multiple knots in the vines, making sure it would hold. She worked as quickly as she could, heart racing, palms sweaty. Thomas stood watch, looking for the creatures that would appear any second. "Done!" Meraya confirmed, testing the reliability. It would have to do. "Let's go!" She said, jogging over to Thomas. She really wished she hadn't. Just around the corner was a Griever. It's bulbous form moving up and down slowly. It seemed to be wheezing, as if it had just ran a marathon. The machine whirred and stalled as its retractable arms shot out, then returned to the monster slowly. It's lights flashed bright reds and blues as it sat…waiting. Meraya could feel her heart in her throat as it pounded. She never felt fear like this. Thomas was a statue next to her, eyes wide, jaw slack. She was sure he was feeling the same bone-chilling fear she was.

The scrapping of metal on rock caught Thomas' attention. On the wall next to him was a lizard like machine with multiple legs. WICKED stamped in black on its back as its red fluorescent eyes shone on him. He nudged Meraya, pulling her attention from the deadly monster in front of them. He was intrigued by the small creature but before he could inspect it further, it bolted, sliding into a crevice in the rock. The Griever whirred to life moments later, blubbery form turning towards the teens. Meraya felt her stomach drop as she swatted Thomas' arm. "Run…..RUN!" The two teens turned on their heels and bolted. Their feet pounded pavement, small rocks kicked up in their wake. The sound of the Griever whirring behind them as it chased the duo. "Split up!" Meraya gasped, glancing back at the creature. She wished she hadn't.

"What?!" Thomas wasn't having any of that.

"It can't…It can't catch…us both!" Meraya panted, sucking in as much air as humanly possible. She pumped her legs, willing them to move faster and faster. Thomas looked at her with wide eyes, not believing what he was hearing. "Just do it!" Meraya screamed. They were coming up on a T-intersection, it was now or never. Thomas nodded and in a few feet he went right, Meraya went left. She could hear the Griever slow, unsure of who to chase at first. She could hear the crunch of rock as a metal arm crashed into the rock wall of the maze as the Griever propelled its momentum to the left…chasing her.

Meraya's lungs burned and her legs were numb, but she had to keep going. She turned left and right and right again. She didn't know where she was going, she just knew she couldn't stop. The sound of the Griever never faded from her trail, it was so close, but not close enough. Meraya sprinted down a hall, running for her life. From in front of her, the bulbous form of a Griever appeared. It looked as if it was waiting for her. _Shit._ Meraya faltered in her steps, but regained her speed. She looked behind her, the first Griever has its metal arms extended, on clamp snapping at her face, another holding the stinger. "Shit. Shit. Shit!" Meraya was stuck in between two beasts.

An arm shot out from a crack in the wall, snatching Meraya's collar and pulling her back into a warm chest. Her scream was muffled by a dirty hand as the Griever's crashed into each other with a horrid screech, followed by the rancid smell of burning flesh and oil. Meraya fought against her savior, pushing them off. "Woah, calm down. Calm down. It's me, Minho." A familiar voice spoke. Meraya sighed in relief, hand to her heart as its rapid beating slowed. "God, don't do that! Freaking gave me a heart attack!" Meraya huffed, still catching her breath. "Yeah, well next time I won't save your shucking life." Minho shot back. Meraya rolled her eyes, they didn't have time for this. "Where's Thomas?" She asked, searching the small cove for their third friend. "Here!" Thomas called from behind Minho's frame and Meraya relaxed, slumping against the wall in relief. "Yeah, found this shuckface after he crushed a Griever between a wall!" Minho spoke like a proud father, clapping Thomas on the back. Meraya stared wide eyed at the boy. "You…you killed one?" Meraya broke out into a smile, why she didn't know but she was happy. She bolted forward, wrapping Thomas in her arms, hugging him. "You killed a shuck Griever!" She nearly yelled. The excitement of living was too much as Meraya let slip the glader slang she tried so hard not to adopt. Minho and Thomas laughed as Meraya nearly crushed Thomas in a hug, not that he minded. Thomas wrapped his arms around her frame, settling his face in the crook of her neck. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She smelled sweat and fear and dirt but Thomas could care less, they were alive and that's all that mattered.

"I'd hate to break up your little love fest, but let's get out of here, I've had more than enough of this shuck maze." Minho huffed, arms crossed with a knowing smirk on his face. Meraya slowly disentangled herself from Thomas, face a light pink as he set her on the ground. She cleared her throat, wiping away the strands of loose hair sticking to her sweaty face. "Yeah." Thomas scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, a light pink hue to his cheeks as well. Minho rolled his eyes and led them out of the maze.

The sun rose and Newt and Chuck were in the same spots as last night. The doors groaned loudly, startling the two boys awake. They scrambled to a standing positon as the heavy doors slid open for the day. They searched the entrance eagerly but were met with nothing. Some other gladers came over to check in their friends survived. They all slumped when no one came through. The Keeper of the Slicer's, Winston, patted Newt on the back. "Sorry man, really thought they might have made it." He said sincerely. Newt nodded mutely as they all turned to get on with the day. A whole was left in his chest where Alby and Meraya used to be.

Chuck stood his ground. He wasn't giving up on his friends. He waited for another half hour, unmoving. He knew they would make it. Meraya was strong and Thomas, well Chuck didn't know if he was a genius or just plain stupid. He was about to give up just like the others when he noticed the little bit of movement. He strained his eyes, focusing on the stirring of something to the left of the bend. "Guys!" Chuck shouted, excitement bubbling up. "Guys look!" his voice rang out over the glade, halting everyone in their tracks. The forms of three bodies, and a fourth slumped between two boys, came staggering around the corner. "THEY'RE HERE! THEY MADE IT! THEY'RE ALIVE! EVERYONE THEY'RE ALIVE!" Chuck screamed. Every glader bolted towards the entrance. Newt ran, stumbling along with his limp. He pushed to the front of the crowd and he couldn't believe his eyes. They were cut up, sweaty, and stumbling but there they were, all of them. Newt rushed forward, pulling Meraya into a tight hug. Just as quickly as he grabbed her he smacked her over the back of the head.  
"What the hell Newt!" Meraya yelled out, punching his shoulder.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again, so help me…" Newt growled, but his anger was betrayed by the tears welling in his eyes and his trembling hands. Meraya softened and pulled Newt in to a hug. "Hey, I'm alive. It's okay. We're all okay." She whispered softly, rubbing her friends back. The other gladers surged forward, hugging Newt, Meraya, and Minho. They medjacks took Alby as the others yelled question after question. Newt gathered himself, wiping the unshed tears, and straightened up.

"Oi!" His voice topped the crowd, quelling the swarm of questions. "Now these two shanks did break our number one rule," this proclamation was met by a series of groans, "and we'll have a proper gatherin' about it later. For now, let's get these kids a shower and some food." Newt flashed a smile at the survivors and threw an arm around Meraya's shoulders. Yeah, she could use a shower, and she could most definitely use some food.

_ _ Meraya sat with her new little group, Chuck, Newt, and Thomas. Newt hadn't left her side, save for when she was in the shower, since she returned, not that she was complaining. Frypan made dinner special tonight, sweet potato pie, roast beef, baked beans, and green beans with bacon in it. They were joined by a new member, Minho. The Asian boy plopped down next to Thomas, shaking the table slightly. "Newt I got somethin' I need to talk to you about." Newt raised a brow, intrigued.

"Greenie here, he needs to be a runner." Minho stated as if it wasn't up for debate. Thomas's face lit up at the idea, after all that's all he wanted to be since he arrived. Meraya let a small smile flicker across her face at the idea. Newt frowned, surprised by Minho's boldness. "You know that's gotta be agreed on by the Council." Newt explained. "Shuck the council, he's gotta be a runner." Minho huffed, stuffing a spoonful of beans into his mouth. Newt shook his head and let the matter drop. It was talk for the council not the dinner table.

Meraya could feel eyes burning in the back of her head. She did her best to ignore but after an hour of it, she had enough. Meraya turned, scanning the dining hall for the kid with a staring problem. Her eyes met Gally's and she paused. The hatred and anger that burned behind his eyes was, for lack of a better word, terrifying. His fists balled up on the table as a sneer graced his already less than appetizing face. Meraya jumped as Gally slammed his fists into the table and stormed out of the dining hall. She watched him leave, unnerved by the anger she'd just witness. Meraya slowly turned back to her plate, the other's not seeming to notice. She shook her head and took a bite of her roast beef.

The sirens screamed loudly, nearly making Meraya choke on her food. The gladers looked around in confusion. Thomas raised a brow unsure why everyone seemed so upset. "What's wrong?" he shouted over the alarm. Meraya looked him dead in the eyes. "It's the greenie box."

The galders surrounded the opening, curious as to why it came so early. Thomas stood to Meraya's right, brows knitted together. He didn't understand why everyone was so buzzed about the box. "It's early." Meraya said, knowing Thomas wasn't here long enough to know why everyone was in such a tizzy. "It's supposed to come once a month, that's it." Meraya's brows knitted together as she chewed on her bottom lip. Too many weird things were beginning to happen and she knew Thomas had something to do with it, but now she wasn't so sure it would be good.

Newt and Minho opened the large metal doors to the box and froze. Inside was an immobile figure. Newt hopped down into the box as the gladers swarmed around. Newt knelt down next to the figure and looked up with wide eyes. "It's a girl." An icy silence followed and Meraya pushed forward to look down. Newt and Minho pulled the girl out and laid her on the ground. She was passed out and barely breathing. She was pale and thin with long black hair. Meraya squinted, an uneasiness settling in her. She didn't like this girl. It wasn't because of some petty 'there can only be one'crap, no this girl was trouble.

Thomas stood off a bit, wide eyed. He was struck with that overwhelming familiarity, but instead of relief he was shocked. Whoever this girl was, she wasn't supposed to be here. The girl gasped, shooting forward. The crowd shouted and everyone scurried back. Bright blue eyes scanned the crowd and landed on Thomas. The girl smiled, "Thomas." Her voice was soft, sweet even. As soon as his name left her lips, her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell against the hard earth. Newt noticed a crumpled piece of paper in her fist. He fished it out of her grip and opened it. "She's the last one….ever."

All eyes were on Thomas now and he never felt the immense urge to run as he did then. Meraya's gaze was the worst, it was almost like she was betrayed and Thomas was scared that it may be the truth. Newt was the first to speak.

"Get her to the medjacks and check her out. Everyone else….go to sleep." Newt wiped a hand over his face. Too much had happened today but they would have a Gathering tomorrow and figure things out. For now, everyone needed rest.

Thomas reached out to Meraya, opening his mouth to explain but she pulled back. "Thomas…don't." She sighed shaking her head. "Just…go to sleep." She murmured and walked to the Homestead. It hurt but, maybe she couldn't trust Thomas like she'd hoped. Not even a day in and everything they knew was changing.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, Thomas and Meraya were taken to the council room. All of the Keepers were there and Newt stood in for Alby. Meraya was nervous to say the least, she wasn't sure how Thomas was feeling, but she couldn't imagine him being any better. They had chairs in the center of the semi-circle formed by the Keepers. Meraya squirmed, glancing at Thomas every now and then. She felt a hand grab her own, giving it a light squeeze, calming her. It was Thomas. He flashed a quick smile and let go. Meraya hadn't spoken to him since dinner, but she was glad he was here.

"Alright," Newt began, "Let's begin." Newt stood up in the center. "These two have broken our number one rule, they went into the maze and they aren't runners BUT, they did save our leader Alby. Some want them punished others want to worship them like gods." Newt smirked at that last bit.

"Just rule breakers now," Gally huffed. Newt shot him a glare to shut him up. "Keep order Gally, you know the _rules._ " Newt snapped. He called on Zart for his opinion first. The Keeper of the Trackhoes sighed and stood. "Well, they did break the rules," Meraya felt herself crumble, "but, now we know we can survive out there." Zart shrugged and sat.  
"Oh please. Thomas probably ran like the coward he is." Gally spat.

"Yeah that's exactly how he saved Alby's life and killed a Griever." Minho hissed. The Keepers erupted into a frenzy of chatter at the new information. Meraya had almost forgotten, Thomas as crushed a Griever with closing walls. Newt hushed everyone and next it was Frypan.

"I think this meeting is stupid. Thomas should be on the council and be teachin' us how to kill those shuck monsters." Frypan sat as the Council room erupted into argument over the suggestion. Newt was getting impatient with everyone's boisterousness. "Noted." He said, "Winston." Meraya glanced at Thomas. They were both feeling pretty good. Two out of the five were on their side.

"Week in the slammer for the both of them. Bread and water only." Winston sat as murmurs of agreement and disagreement surfaced. "Noted, Gally you're next." Meraya could hear the reluctance in Newt's voice as he spoke, she didn't feel much better about it either. Gally smirked as he stood, glaring at Thomas and Meraya.

"I think he's a spy, Meraya's probably with him!" Gally crossed his arms, proud of the controversy he sparked. "Send them in the slammer for a month and then we can talk about what to do with the traitors next!" Gally sat as Newt noted his suggestion, even though he hated the idea of it. Last was Minho, and Meraya had high hopes for his opinion.

"Listen, I was there with them. What they did, I still don't believe. Meraya and Thomas risked their lives to save Alby while I ran like a baby and Thomas killed a Griever. He should be the Keeper of the runners." Minho sat as protests erupted at the suggestion.

"That's nuts! Minho should be removed from the council for saying such crap!" Gally cried out.

"Shut it all of ya or I'll end this shuck council here and now!" Newt yelled, fed up with the childishness. "Minho, explain."  
"You didn't see what I saw. Thomas didn't panic, he stayed calm. He saved two boys he barely knew. I'm the only one here who's been out in the maze." Minho said.

"I've been in the maze."Gally blurted out.

"Yeah and you broke the same shuck rule as Thomas so slim it!" Minho hissed. "The rest of us were crybaby's when we got here," Meraya sent Minho a pointed glare, she most definitely was not. "Except Meraya," Minho rolled his eyes with a smirk, "He's brave, he's smart, and he's fast." Minho said.

"He's a rule breaker!" Gally interrupted again.

"And you're nothing but a coward who never once asked to be a runner or even tried to get us out of this shuck maze so can it!" Minho yelled clearly fed up with Gally's outbursts.

"Talk to me like that again and I'll break your shuck neck!" Gally screamed back, neck taught as veins popped out of his neck at the strain of yelling. Minho slammed Gally to the ground, holding him down with his foot. "Speak to me again and I'll snap _your_ neck." Minho threatened. Meraya and Thomas sat wide eyed. Minho was pulled off as Gally scrambled to his feet. His face was tomato red, eyes wide and crazy. "You'll regret that shuckface!" He screamed. "And YOU TWO!" His wild gaze fell on Meraya and Thomas. "I've seen you before Thomas. Whatever you're up to, I'll stop you. Kill you if I have to." Gally hissed. "And don't think I don't know about you missy!" Gally spat at Meraya, "I know you're in on it too!" Gally ran off.

There was silence for a moment before someone spoke. "Slintheads lost it." Minho sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't dismiss him, he did go through the changing." Winston murmured. Meraya felt rage boil up inside of her. "He just threatened our lives and you want to take his word for it because we went through some weirdo hallucination he barely remembers?" Meraya chocked out a sarcastic laugh. "You've GOT to be kidding." She was standing down, hands on hips, shaking her head. "Last time I checked, this is about what happened in the maze last night, not Gallly's screwed up conspiracy theories." Everyone was silent as Meraya spoke. "If you wanna throw us in jail for saving two of your asses then fine. Do it. Next time I'll just point and laugh and go eat dinner instead." Meraya spat and turned on her heel and left. Newt smirked, stifling a laugh at the shocked faces of the Keepers and Thomas. He composed himself rather quickly and straightened his shoulders. "Well I think this Gathering is far past over. One night in the slammer, no food. Thomas, you're gonna be a runner and get us the shuck out of here." There seemed to be a general consensus that that was a good plan and the Keepers left. Newt patted Thomas's shoulder on the way out, as did Minho. Thomas stood after everyone was gone and shook his head, he was pretty sure Meraya just saved his life.

Dinner went by quickly and before Thomas knew it, it was time for his sentencing. He was to have no food or water until the next morning. The slammer was a dark, damp hole in the ground with a door with a small window barred with sticks. He looked up at the sky and sighed. At least the stars were out so it wasn't pitch black in there.

 _Thomas.._ Thomas froze in place. _Thomas…_ He was going crazy wasn't he. Thomas shook his head as a female voice seemed to echo inside of it. _Teresa, my names Teresa._ That name, it was familiar. Thomas frowned, was it the girl that came up in the box yesterday? _Remember, you have to remember, WICKED is good._ Thomas turned, WICKED, it was the name on the lizard he'd seen. If they were the one's that put them here how could they be good?

"Hey," Thomas' ravings were cut by Chuck's young face. Thomas looked at the boys cherub face and was glad to see him. "Hey Chuck." Thomas said softly. They began talking about the maze and how Thomas survived. Chuck seemed to be fascinated by it and Thomas supposed if the roles were reversed he would be too.

"Hey Thomas, you think…you think I have parents out there?" Chuck whispered softly. Thomas was stunned but answered quickly. "Yeah Chuck, of course."

"You think they miss me?" He asked, voice cracking, as he played with a small figurine. It was pure white and looked quite similar to the boy. "I made this for them so they have something to remember me by." He explained. "Here." Chuck said, handing it to Thomas. Thomas didn't know what to do, he was shocked. "Chuck, I …" He looked up to the young boy. "Give it to them for me." Chuck sighed. "Chuck," Thomas stated with authority, "You're going to be the one to give it to them. I'm getting you out of here." Thomas held a finality as he gave the figurine back to Chuck. The young boy smiled, tears threatening to fall. Chuck sniffled taking his carving back and nodded, feeling much better. "Night Thomas." Chuck sighed. "Night, Chuck." Thomas whispered.

A few minutes passed until Thomas' next visitor. "Hey," Meraya's voice was soft. She looked down at Thomas with guilt. She should be in there too. "Hey!" Thomas said, smiling and moving closer to the door. "Thomas…when the doors were closing…I heard something." Meraya blurted out. She had been thinking about this since they returned. "I heard um, well I think I heard…your thoughts." Meraya looked up at Thomas' shocked face. "You were fighting with yourself, not sure if you should run or not." Meraya rambled, "I think that's why I went after you. I knew what you were doing because I heard it." Her voice was trailing off softly. Thomas was silent, stunned. "Yeah, its crazy right, I can't read minds. I think I would know by now, right?" Meraya laughed. "No!" Thomas blurted out. "I..I've been hearing thoughts too. Not yours but….I think….I think they're that girls. Her name's Teresa she said….she said WICKED is good." Thomas said with a feverish tone. Meraya's face screwed up into suspicion. "WICKED is good?" Meraya had never heard a more ludicrous thing in her life, which she remembered at least. "How Thomas? They're the ones that put us in here, they're anything but good. And how can you even trust her?" Meraya shot back, a little more harshly than she intended. "I don't know I just…do. I think I know her but, I'm not sure from where." Thomas admitted. "Oh okay Thomas. Let's just trust anyone that gives us déjà vu our immediate and total trust." Meraya rolled her amber eyes. "Because it's not like she didn't hold an ominous note or anything." Meraya huffed. "Look I just trust her okay?" Thomas shot back. "Yeah and it's gonna bite you in the ass. I don't trust her and I don't like her either." Meraya spat. "Why cus you're not the only girl anymore?" Thomas laughed. "If you really think that, you're a complete idiot. She's the last one, she can speak to you telepathically, and she thinks WICKED, the people who PUT US HERE is good? Wow Thomas, just wow." Meraya shook her head as her anger was becoming too much for her to control. She stood and left Thomas to his thoughts. She was hurt that he would dismiss the facts for a girl he didn't even speak to face to face! "Meraya! I'm sorry! Meraya!" Thomas called after her but she left. He sighed and slumped to the ground. He didn't know why he said what he did. He knew she had a point, a very valid one, but he just couldn't explain it. He knew Teresa and he trusted her one hundred percent. He just hoped Meraya wasn't right though, he hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the end.


	16. Chapter 16

Morning came rather quickly, something Thomas was thankful for. Newt came, unlocked the door, and yanked Thomas out. "First day as a runner greenie, how you feel?" Thomas offered a half smile, his conversation with Meraya stuck in his mind. He wanted to talk to her again, smooth things over, but he had a job to do. Thomas met with Minho next to a small shed.

"We're going out to check out that dead Griever you killed but first," Minho pushed open the wooden door open, "let's get you suited up." Minho smiled proudly. He handed Thomas a backpack that hooked over his shoulders and across his chest, a small metal lunch box, two water bottles, and a pair of running shoes. "Alright, you're ready." Minho said with a finality. Thomas nodded, taking a deep breath. They jogged towards the maze doors and were once again out in the maze. Memories of their night inside flashed across Thomas' mind but he pushed forward. They came to the dead Griever still smashed between the maze walls. Thomas' face twisted in disgust at the mangled body, the scent of decaying flesh invading the hall. "Hey….what's that?" Minho pointed to a red light coming from inside the crushed body. Thomas leaned forward, peering through the small gap the Griever's body created. He saw what Minho was pointing at. "I think…I think it's a number." Thomas mumbled reaching forward. His hand pushed through torn flesh and a strange gooey substance, he could only assume it was the Griever's blood, until his fingers came in contact with a metal cylinder. Thomas gripped it and yanked hard, pulling it free. Minho and Thomas shared looks of apprehension. They weren't sure what the cylinder was or what it could do. It was about seven inches long with an analog screen on one side, the number seven shown in bright red on the screen.

"What do you think it means?" Thomas asked. Minho furrowed his brow as a thought occurred to him.

"I think, I think it's where they come from. The maze has nine sections, this has a seven on it. So, this one must have come from section seven but….we've searched every inch of it there's nothing." Minho sighed.

"Maybe this thing opens up a way out. Couldn't hurt to search." Thomas offered, sliding the cylinder into the side of his backpack. Minho nodded in agreement and once again, they were running.

They were in section four and running to section seven would take two hours. It was just around lunch time when the two boys slowed from a sprint to a jog, entering section seven. They panted, chests rising and falling rapidly as their eyes scanned the area. The metal cylinder in Thomas's backpack crackled to life, a weird beeping mixed with static emitting from it. Thomas pulled it from his side pocket and held it out in front of him, slowly sweeping it in a semi-circle. It would crackle and pop as Thomas moved forward, moving it in a sweeping motion. It passed over the right and went haywire. Thomas heard a click and a large sheet of rock moved upward, opening up a whole new section of the maze. Thomas stared at Minho in surprise, Minho only shrugged. He hadn't seen this section before. The two stepped forward into an immensely large opening. Large metal slats stood open, leaving a clear path to another doorway. Minho and Thomas jogged forward and again, the cylinder crackled to life, clicked, and another door slid open revealing a cylindrical opening with a rock bridge to a small circle door. Minho and Thomas stepped forward tentively. A small box next to the metal, circle door opened and a red laser scanned the boys. They stood there confused until a screeching siren went off. The door the boys had come through began to close and they scrambled to make it through in time. The metal slats were flipping, closing off the way to the exit. Minho slipped between the closing metal slats just in time but Thomas was left on the other side.

"Thomas! Hurry!" Minho called out, pushing himself to go faster. Each time Thomas got close, a slat would shut in his face. His heart slammed against his chest as he pumped his arms and pushed himself to go faster than ever before. More and more slats were closing, seconds before he could slide through, and he was running out of time. Thomas took a deep breath and slipped between a closing metal slats. He could feel the snap of the metal slat closing as he slipped through, barely making it. Thomas felt a wave of relief that was wiped away as he saw the heavy stone door closing. Minho has gone through and turned, waving Thomas on. "Thomas! RUN!" His voice cracking with the strain. With seconds left, Thomas slid through the closing, tumbling through the doorway. He lay on the other side as the stone slammed shut. Minho stood above him, hands on knees, panting heavily. Thomas felt a laugh bubble up out of his throat, Minho joining in a few seconds later. They burst into a fit of laughter, they might have just found an exit after all!

Thomas and Minho returned to the glade, ready to share what they found. In the two years that the galders had been here, this was the closest they've ever come to escaping. Newt was the first to greet them, Thomas scanned the area for Meraya but there was no sign of her. "You won't believe what we found!" Minho whispered in excitement. Newt raised a brow intrigued. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.  
"Hey!" Meraya came jogging over from the Homestead. She glanced at Thomas before turning to Newt. Thomas frowned, wishing he could at least have gotten a hello from her. "She's awake." Newt, Minho, and Thomas as straightened and followed Meraya to the Homestead. She led them to the girls room and let them in.

Newt sat next to her while Minho and Thomas hung back by the door. Meraya took her place next to Teresa and checked her pulse. Thomas watched her care for Teresa and just wished she would at least look at him. "Can I talk to Thomas alone?" Teresa spoke, eyes boring into Thomas's own. He felt his stomach drop as all eyes snapped to him. Newt eyed him and Teresa but nodded. "Fine." He and Minho left, Meraya lingering for a few moments before leaving. She cast him a suspicious glance, one that Thomas turned away from. He pulled up a seat next to Teresa and heard what she had to say.

"Thomas I, I have to tell you this before it slips away. We worked with them, I don't know exactly who they are, but we were a part of it. Before I came here I triggered something called the ending. I…I don't know what that means but I did it. We can't stay here." Teresa spoke with an unknown sense of urgency. Her voice struck him with déjà vu as he recognized it as the one he had heard while in the slammer. "I wrote this on my arm when I woke up, too. It's like I needed to remember this." Teresa pulled up her sleeve revealing the words WICKED IS GOOD in big bold letters. Up until now Thomas had been completely silent, but seeing that, he stumbled back. Those were the exact words she had spoken to him in his mind. "You..You said that..in my mind." Thomas whispered. Teresa's eyes met his with a soft smile. _I know._ Thomas stumbled again, he didn't like that. It felt normal, like they'd done it all their lives, but completely foreign and left him dizzy.

Meraya stood outside of the door, listening to what was being said. She heard bits and pieces but one thing stood out to her. "I triggered something called the ending…" Meraya felt ice run down her spine. Whatever the ending was, it couldn't be good. She didn't trust this girl and the fact that Thomas had the upmost faith in her, didn't leave her feeling so trustworthy of him either. Meraya chewed her lower lip, arms crossed and anxious. Bad things were going to happen. She could just feel it in her gut.

Thomas stepped outside into the hall, closing the door behind him. He saw Meraya hanging back behind Newt and Minho, who had stepped forward eager to hear what Teresa wanted to say to him alone. Thomas took a deep breath, heaving a heavy sigh. "She said she knew me. That we worked with the people who put us here and….before she came," Thomas faltered afraid. He didn't want his new friends to hate him. His eyes locked with Meraya's and the words spilled forth, "She triggered something called the ending." His words were met with silence. He watched Meraya's reaction closely and when she didn't move, he got scared. Slowly emotions began flickering over her features, like she couldn't choose just one. Her face finally settled into subdued anger. _I told you not to trust her. She just killed us all._ Meraya's voice was so calm that it terrified Thomas to his very core. He watched her walk away, hands shaking fists at her sides. Newt and Minho fell back against the wall. "Wow, good thing we got good news then, huh." Minho mumbled, which caught Newt's attention. "We may have found a way out…..through the Griever hole." Minho admitted it was dangerous, the monsters they had been avoiding lived in the only exit they had left. "We'll have a gathering about it tomorrow." Newt breathed. If he thought too much happened the day before, then way too much just happened today. They were faced with 'the ending' but had an escape plan that could kill them all.

That night, Thomas sought out Meraya, he couldn't leave things like this. He needed her to forgive him. He searched the entire glade and found her a few yards beyond the trees. She sat on a thick branch, ten feet above the ground. Thomas stood beneath the trees and looked up. "Can we talk?" His voice traveled up to Meraya, who just looked down at him, watching him squirm under her gaze. Meraya sighed and nodded, "Yeah, come on up." She said, scooting farther out on the branch. Thomas flashed a smile and climbed up. He settled on the branch, his back against the tree trunk. "I just wanted to say,"  
"I'm sorry." Meraya blurted out. Thomas was shocked she apologized. She had nothing to apologize for, he was the jerk. Meraya turned to him on the branch. "Look, I'm sorry. You haven't done anything for me not to trust you its just," Meraya sighed, fiddling with her fingers, "So many weird things happening and, no offense, since you came and it's just weird okay." She was rambling a smile found its way onto Thomas's face as Meraya fought to find words, "I know whatever our pasts were don't matter here and that doesn't matter to me so I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think it's your fault and if you trust that Teresa girl then fine beca-" Thomas didn't know what took him over. He grabbed Meraya's face and smashed his lips onto hers. Thomas felt her gasp and took that opportunity to deepen the kiss, his fingers slipping into her curly hair, pulling her against him.

Meraya was in a daze. She wasn't sure how or why this was happening but she liked it. Her eyes fluttered closed as his fingers dipped into her hair. Her own hands fisted into his shirt, pulling their bodies flush together. Their kiss went from experimental to feverish in seconds. Neither knew the next time they would share a moment like this, or if they would even have a chance. Meraya kissed Thomas until her lungs burned for air, and even then she didn't stop. When they finally broke apart, Meraya was gasping for breath. Thomas panted softly, a goofy smile on his face as they sat on the tree.

Their serene moment was broken by bloodcurdling screams. Meraya's head snapped towards the glade as fear filled her heart. Something was wrong, very very wrong. Thomas seemed to have the same thoughts as he was already scrambling down the tree, Meraya was quick to follow. When they broke the line of trees, it was like a scene from a horror movie. The glade doors were wide open, three more having opened all around the glade as well. The gardens were burning as gladers screamed and ran terrified. Three Grievers ravaged the land, taking any glader in their way. Meraya could hear their piercing screams cut short as they were stung or killed. Thomas grabbed Meraya's hand as they watched the horror unfold in front of them. "The doors won't close!" A voice Meraya wasn't expecting to hear came from their left. It was Alby, running towards them, followed by Minho, Newt, Chuck, Teresa, Winston, and Zart. "Alby?!" Thomas spluttered. When did he wake up? "Yes I'm up, I'm healthy, so let's survive tonight." Alby quipped, seemingly knowing exactly what was going through Meraya and Thomas's mind. Without further question, Meraya and Thomas joined the group.

 _What were you two doing in the woods?_ Teresa's voice echoed in Thomas's mind, he chose to ignore it.


	17. Chapter 17

The glade was a mess. The survivors packed inside the Homestead. Thomas was huddled with Meraya, Newt, Miho, and Teresa. Alby was counting off gladers, seeing who was left alive. He was stopped when the Homestead began to creek. Everyone hushed and listened, eyes scanning the wooden structure. It creaked once more until the wood splintered with an explosion. A metallic arm shot through the whole, snatching around for a victim. It caught on to Alby's shirt, yanking him backwards. Thomas's hand shot out, holding on with everything he had. "Alby!" Thomas yelled. Meraya shot forward, yanking on their leader, but the Griever was too strong. "Get them out Thomas!" Alby yelled as he was pulled through the wall. "ALBY!" Meraya screamed, rushing forward and watching the Griever carry him away. Another metal arm shattered a new whole in the wall. This time it reached for Chuck and Meraya wasn't about to let those monsters take him too.

Meraya hopped up, wrapping her arms around Chuck's waist, holding on for dear life. The poor boy gripped Meraya's arms, screaming for help. "Don't let go!" Chuck panicked. "No way in hell kid." Meraya promised. Another metal arm shot through the opening, unsheathing a stinger. Thomas sprang into action, searching the ground for anything to get Chuck free. He found a machete laying on the ground, most likely dropped by a glader on their way in. Thomas picked it up and lifted it high above his head. Thomas swung down hard, cutting chuck free. The stinger and the metal arm clattered to the ground and Chuck and Meraya crumpled to the ground. Chuck clung to Meraya as she rubbed his back in soothing circles.

The Grievers retreated and the gladers made their way outside. Thomas grabbed the stinger, inspecting the piece of metal. Everything was destroyed and despair settled over the gladers. Gally came stomping forward and pulled his fist back. He launched it forward, slamming his fist into Thomas's cheek. Thomas crumpled to the ground in shock. Gally jumped on top of him and slammed his fist into Thomas' cheek. Meraya ran over and tackled Gally off of Thomas. Gally easily threw her off and crawled back over to Thomas to return to his assault. Gally was grabbed by Minho and slammed into the ground. "SLIM IT! Minho yelled into Gally's enraged face. "HE KILLED US ALL! THIS IS ALL HIS FAULT!"Gally screamed. Meraya sat up as gladers shook their head in agreement with Gally. This wasn't good.

Thomas started down at the stinger a few feet away. "I saw him in the Changing. He's one of them!" Gally screamed, struggling against Minho's grip. Thomas chewed his lower lip and knew what he had to do. While everyone was distracted with Gally, he crawled to the stinger and held it in both hands. Before he could second guess himself, Thomas plunged the needle into his thigh, screaming as a searing pain ripped through his leg and spread rapidly. "Thomas!" Meraya's voice called out to him before everything went black.

Meraya sat next to Thomas as he lay unconscious on the bed. He had been administered the antidote within minutes of being stung. She held his hand in hers and never left his side. Newt and Minho would stop by occasionally. Chuck would bring her breakfast lunch and dinner. The gladers were hiding out in the Homestead. Each night, the Grievers would come, terrorize the glade and take one victim each night. Gally had taken over and was asking for Thomas' head. Teresa was in the slammer, not that Meraya was complaining about that at all. Newt and Minho were working on an escape plan in secret until Thomas woke up.

Thomas sat up with a gasp. He remembered snippets of his memories but it was enough. He felt a weight on this thighs and looked down. Meraya was asleep, arms folded on his legs, head resting on her arms. Thomas smiled softly and patted her back. Feeling his touch, Meraya jerked awake. "Thomas?" Meraya looked at him and smiled. "You're awake!" Meraya threw her arms around Thomas and hugged him tightly. "We have to tell Newt!" Meraya said, already standing. Thomas grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Wait….Meraya I." Thomas took a deep breath. "Meraya, I remember. Not everything though, but I was one of them. I remember you and Teresa, we were all a part of it. I…don't know why but, they sent you in here and I…I couldn't let them do that. I had to save you so I got sent in too. It's an experiment. They're testing us and there's no solving the maze. We have to escape through the hole." Meraya was silent but didn't pull away, for that Thomas was thankful. Meraya sat on the bed by his feet, mulling over what Thomas had said. After a long silence, she spoke. "Look, I said it doesn't matter who we were or what we did and I meant it. You have done nothing but try and help us find a way out of here. Whatever those people did and are doing to us, it isn't your fault. You're just like us now." As Meraya spoke, her eyes never left Thomas'. He felt tears brim his eyes, thankful she didn't turn her back on him. He swallowed the lump in his throat as Meraya stood. "I'm going to get Newt and Minho. You're going to tell them what you told me, and we're getting the hell out of this glade." Meraya smiled, patted Thomas' leg, and headed for the door.


	18. Chapter 18

Meraya was dragged across the glade by her arms, dirt and rocks scraping her skin. Teresa was already tied up at the entrance to the glade on a pole. There were three set up, one occupied, the other two for Meraya and Thomas. Gally had worked the entire glade up into a frenzy and convinced them that Teresa, Thomas, and Meraya were all spies. Gally stood watch, arms crossed with a scowl on his face. Meraya lurched forward when she saw him, but was held back by the two large boys. They slammed her against the wooden pole and hooked her bound hands on the hook high above her head. She and Teresa both had their hands bound, glaring at the teen in front of them. Meraya squirmed in place, kicking up dirt in her struggle. "You ain't getting out of this one sweetie." One of the boy whispered. His hand caressed her cheek as he snickered at her glare. Meraya glanced at Teresa. The poor girl looked terrified but was still able to send a glare towards Gally. Thomas was dragged out moments later. He was slumped between two large men. Seeing him like that put Meraya into a panic as she tried even harder to break free but it wasn't working. They had her tied up so her toes barely touched the ground, she had no leverage to free her hands.

Behind her, Newt and Minho and Chuck slowly advanced. They were disgusted by what they saw. This wasn't right. "Gally, what's got into your shuck head?" Minho spat. Gally glared but answered. "These slinthead caused all this. They're getting what's there's."

"You can't banish them, the doors don't close at night!" Newt informed. Gally almost laughed, almost.

"This ain't a banishment." Gally locked eyes with Newt, "It's an offering." Meraya stilled in her struggle, eyes wide. Was he completely mental? Those monsters weren't rational. They weren't going to just take them and never come back! They were bloodthirsty and would kill every last one of them!

Thomas shot up suddenly, slamming his fist into one boy's stomach, spinning and landing a punch to the others jaw. He stole a machete from another boys back pocket, holding it out in a defensive position. Newt and Minho sprang into action, knocking out the nearest boy and cutting the girls free. Gally stumbled back. Newt, Minho, Chuck, Teresa, Thomas, and Meraya stood with their backs to the maze entrance. "Alright, listen." Thomas said, holding his machete ready in case they were attacked. "We're leaving. You don't have to come with us, but we aren't staying here. Those monsters, the Grievers, they'll keep coming back, every night, until there's nothing and no one left. This is a test by the creators. We were never meant to stay here. We were meant to escape. So if you want to come with us, we're going..now." There was an uneasy pause after Thomas' speech. The gladers shifted, looking around. Winston was the first to move, he slowly walked over to the group, choosing their side. After him, more and more decided to leave. "It's better to try than to be sitting ducks," Winston mumbled as they were joined with about forty gladers in total. "You're all dead!"Gally spat. The group ignored him, turning to the maze. It was now or never. Thomas took the first step into the maze and then, they were all running, to death or to freedom, they were about to find out.

They ran for what felt like hours. Nothing was said as the group trudged through the maze halls, turning left, then right, then left again. The only sounds made were the soft panting of the runners, their feets pounding against the pavement. Meraya wiped sweat from her brow, heart pounding against her chest. Her lungs burned and her legs begged her to stop but she wouldn't allow it. She had to keep pushing, she had to.

Meraya looked around, seeing how the other gladers were doing. She was quite surprised to see that plenty of them were keeping up. Thomas and Minho had shot to the front of the group, leading them to freedom. There were a few stranglers, but nothing to worry about. Meraya looked forward again, finding Chuck. She jogged next to him, nudging his side. He was panting heavily, face beat red but the kid kept pushing. Meraya flashed him an encouraging smile, to which he nodded and turned forward, concentrating on running. Meraya did the same as she reached out towards Thomas.

 _There's no Grievers out._ Her voice echoed in his mind. Thomas glanced back, seeing where Meraya was.

 _Yeah, not sure if that's good or bad._ He replied, facing forward.

 _Doesn't feel right to me._ Meraya replied.

 _Me neither._ Thomas said back. They ended their chat, focusing on the task at hand. A few more minutes passed in silence. Meraya was pretty sure it was just their fear of the unknown.

"Almost there! Few more turns!" Minho called out from the front. Meraya felt a wave of relief wash over her. She was exhausted and knew the others were too. A few more turns here and there and then the group was jogging up a long narrow hall. Minho and Thomas slowed, the group following suit. Meraya, panting heavily, pushed her way to the front. "What's going on?" She breathed, sucking in huge gulps of air into her screaming lungs. Thomas and Minho looked over the gladers, they were all doubled over, hands on their knees, sucking in as much air as they could. "We're going to check out the entrance, in case there's any surprises." Minho explained. The two boys panted, but seemed pretty okay other than that. Meraya nodded, turning back to the group to check on the gladers.

Thomas and Minho jogged forward towards the next left turn. As they turned the corner, Thomas paled. Minho felt his stomach drop and his heart leap into his throat. As quick as possible, they scurried back around the corner. _We're in trouble._ Thomas spoke out, unknowingly reaching out to Teresa and Meraya.

 _What's going on?_

 _What happened?!_

Two voices rang out in Thomas's mind making him visibly cringe from the sound. Minho glanced at Thomas but kept his mouth shut. The two boys jogged back to the group to be met with Newt, Meraya, and Teresa. Teresa moved next to Thomas, placing a worried hand on his arm and squeezing lightly. Meraya glanced at them, but kept her mouth shut, for now.

"What's up there?" Newt asked. Thomas shifted away from Teresa before answering.

"Griever's..."  
"Tons of 'em." Minho finished. Both teens were pale. Meraya could feel the color drain from her face. She chewed her bottom lip, looking back at the other gladers. "Let's do it." The three boys were shocked by her determination. "Look, we came this far and we have our friends following us. We aren't going to run back to the glade now because we're scared. No one said this would be easy and that we wouldn't get hurt." Newt nodded in agreement, Minho had a smirk on his face, and Thomas smiled. Teresa looked beyond nervous, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She grabbed Thomas' hand, squeezing tightly and this time he didn't pull away.

The gladers were convinced, they were going to make a stand. Thomas and Minho led the gladers through the hall and around the corner. There were five Grievers sitting next to the entrance, waiting. Their blubber skin rose and fell slowly, like the things were breathing. Their metal arms were dangling in the air, immobile for now. As the gladers moved forward, they slowed, hearts racing in their chests. The Grievers seemed to be oblivious to their presence. Looks of unease were shared as they slowly turned the corner to face the creatures.

"Remember the plan." Minho breathed. "Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck go through no matter what, they have the code."  
Almost as if the Grievers were waiting for the gladers to ready themselves, their engines whirred as Minho finished speaking. Those with weapons gripped them in their fists, hearts racing. Meraya's hands were shaking as she watched the Grievers come to life. _Stay alive._ she called out to Thomas. He glanced at her shaking frame from a few feet away. _Come back to me._ He responded and then, with a war cry from Minho, picked up by the galders, they charged.

The Grievers fat, mechanical bodies slammed into the gladers. They stabbed at the fatty tissue of the monsters, screams of terror echoing off of the stone walls. Thomas rushed forward, leading Chuck and Teresa towards the small room he had found with Minho.

Meraya slashed out at a Griever, hearing the satisfying inhuman scream of the thing. She smirked to herself as she lashed out at the grievers. The maze was a mess of blood, screams, and the sound of metal clanking against , the gladers fought on. _Hurry up in there!_ Meraya called out. She panted heavily, scratches covering her arms and face. She clutched her knife in her hand like her life depended on it. A Griever snapped its metal claws at her face as Meraya defended herself the best she could. The Griever swung a claw, slamming it into her stomach. Meraya screamed as she heard the loud snap of a few ribs. She crumpled to the ground as its metal claws slammed into the ground on either side of her. Meraya looked up to see the needle extending from a new metal arm. It shot forward at lightning speed and Meraya closed her eyes bracing for the pain. It never came.

Meraya slowly opened one eye and then the other. She stared, heart pounding as the needle was poised centimeters from her face. Meraya looked around, seeing other Grievers in similar states of immobilization. "Everyone okay?!" Minho's voice bounced off the walls. Meraya sighed in relief, falling back onto the stone floor, pumping a fist in the air in victory. "Thank god."


	19. Chapter 19

Meraya went to sit up only to be met with a searing pain in her middle. She bit back a scream, squeezing her eyes shut until the majority of the pain subsided. Taking a deep breath, Meraya looked up at the sky, remembering the claw that had slammed her into the ground. It must have broken her ribs. Meraya panted softly, psyching herself up to move. With one deep breath, Meraya rolled over and pushed herself up in one swift motion. She let out a strangled cry of pain, stumbling a few steps, clutching her ribs. Newt was by her side in a second, helping her stand, worry all over his face. "What happened?" His voice was soft as he began checking her over. Meraya swatted his hands away, looking around. There was body's everywhere, but more standing. "Let's go." She whispered. Meraya couldn't mourn now, not until they were free.

Chuck breathed a sigh of relief after the code was punched in. Thomas clapped him on the back with a large smile, they were finally free. Teresa felt a wave of relief wash over her as the imminent threat was over. She grabbed Thomas' hand, spinning him around to face her. The teen stumbled over his feet as he was pulled in a new direction, Teresa crashing her lips to his. Thomas froze unsure of what to do, but Teresa wound her fingers into Thomas' hair, tugging slightly.

Minho held Meraya in his arms as he ran towards the exit where Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck were waiting for them. It was faster and easier to carry her than to have her struggle with walking. Every step jostled her, making Meraya wince and squeeze Minho's arm. Thankfully it wasn't far, but she wished it had been.

Coming around the corner, Minho and Meraya were met with a sight she wished she'd never seen. Teresa and Thomas were in the middle of a heated kiss, her hands tangled in his dark brown hair, his on her waist tentively. Hearing their footsteps, Thomas pulled away quickly, staring wide eyed at the entrance. Thomas stumbled over his words while Minho stood gaping like a fish, Chuck had covered his eyes, completely uncomfortable by the display, and Teresa stood with a satisfied smile. Meraya clenched her jaw, anger spiking to an uncontrollable level. Thomas gulped, seeing the look in her eyes. Meraya was set down slowly by Minho as the rest of the gladers caught up. Newt looked around, unsure of what was going on. The tension in the air was palpable as Meraya glared, seething at Thomas.

Meraya huffed a sigh, too angry to even speak and tore her eyes away from Thomas. She limped forward, one arm wrapped around her mid-section and slammed her hand down on the red button next to the screen they had typed the code into.

"Meraya I-" Thomas started, grabbing Meraya's free arm.

"Don't." She growled out, snatching her arm back, not even looking at Thomas. Thomas winced, stepping back as the large circular, metal door spiraled open. No light escaped the whole as the gladers stared into it. Desperate to escape Thomas' gaze, Meraya stepped up into the opening, she glanced back at her friends, only about twenty left alive, and then turned forward, with a deep breath and stepped forward.

The tunnel was a mile long, twisting and turned. Meraya's feet splashed into some unknown liquid as she traveled. She used her right hand, running it along the tunnel wall to keep track of where she was going. Meraya could feel the others gladers presence behind her. Every now and then her anger would flare when she remembered Thomas was back there somewhere in the darkness.

 _Meraya. Talk to me…please._

Meraya clenched her jaw, willing Thomas to leave her alone.

 _Let me explain! C'mon, please!  
_ Meraya huffed, glancing back into the dark expanse of the tunnel.

 _No._

Thomas sighed, shaking his head. He was so confused. He had no clue where the kiss from Teresa had come from. It was nice, he would admit that. Really, really nice but it wasn't Meraya. He thought back to their time in the tree, how she felt in his arms, and her lips on his, and his fingers in her hair. Thomas shivered as pleasurable goosebumps appeared on his arms at the memory.

 _I'm not going to give up._ Thomas vowed and then it went silent.

Meraya saw the light at the end of the tunnel first. As she got closer, she had to hold her right arm up in front of her eyes. It was a blinding white light that swallowed her whole vision. Unable to see properly, she stumbled out of the tunnel and into a large room. Meraya was hit with a strange sense of déjà vu as she spun in a slow circle. The room was white with a tint of blue in the tiles that lined the walls and the doors. It was a perfect cube, with one window on the left wall. Inside were a group of men and women. They were tall, thin-lipped, with straight noses, and tiny black eyes. They all had cropped blonde hair, nearly white, and all wore white lab coats. They barely looked human.

"First set of Trials, finished. Subjects survived: Twenty. Canidates Survived: Four." A woman's light voice echoed through unseen speakers. The gladers stared in awe at the people behind the glass, some spun in slow circles taking in their surroundings. A door opened in the wall adjacent to the mirror and a woman stepped through. The gladers packed in tightly, backing away from the stranger. She had cropped brown hair, a white tunic, and light blue pants. Her smile was more fake than plastic, as a figure swayed back and forth behind her.  
"Welcome, we are WICKED." She spoke with a lilting voice. "You all are part of something great here." The gladers exchanged glances of uncertainty. "Come say hello to your friends Gally." The figure stepped forward robotically. The gladers gasped seeing Gally's face. It was blank, void of all emotion and his eyes were dead. He swayed slowly from side to side in an eerie manner. Meraya slid in front of Newt, not trusting Gally or the woman he was with.

"What's going on?" Thomas demanded, Meraya held back the glare that begged to scorch him. The woman smiled a knowing smile. "Why you survived the Maze Trials dear, however," She stepped sideways away from Gally, "There is one Variable left." Her voice took a dark turn and the gladers moved closer.

Gally's movement was too quick for anyone to react. No one knew he had thrown a knife until they heard the wet thunk of it colliding with Chuck's chest. Meraya stared in horror as Chuck choked on the blood filling his lungs and collapsed to the floor, Thomas, in his grief, falling with him. On instinct, Meraya threw her own knife. It found a home in Gally's stomach. The gladers surrounded the dying boy, Meraya falling to her knees on the other side of him. Chuck smiled up Thomas and Meraya sadly. "It's okay guys, can't feel a thing." Chuck choked out a laugh, blood bubbling out of the corners of his lips. "Here." He gasped, struggling to fish the small white figurine from his pocket. He held it up, now stained with blood, and Thomas gently took it from his grasp.

"Chuck." Thomas choked out, tears spilling down his cheeks. Meraya stared down at Chuck's cherub face, her fingers grazing his cheeks gently. Her heart felt numb, like someone had froze it in place. She couldn't lose Chuck, he was like family. Meraya sobbed, leaning over and burying her face into Chuck's neck as he let out his final breath. Thomas stared down in horror as Chuck died in his arms, Meraya sobbing into his now limp body. "Chuck." Thomas' voice cracked.

A door slammed open and the sound of gunfire could be heard faintly in Meraya's conscious. A man in black came into the room the gladers were currently in ushering the others out. Thomas and Meraya stayed, sobbing over Chuck's body. Hands grabbed Meraya's shoulders, and lifted her away. Like a wild animal being taken captive, she screamed and kicked. Meraya got away once, crawling frantically towards Chuck's dead body only to be grabbed around her ankle and dragged back. "CHUCK!" her voice ripped from her throat as the despair threw her into a frenzy. "LET ME GO! CHUCK! CHUCK WAKE UP!" Meraya twisted in their grip, kicking, hitting, anything to get free but they were too strong. Thomas was in a similar state of panic, getting free once and snatching the small figurine off the ground before both teens were dragged outside.

The blazing heat caught Meraya's breath in her throat as the blinding light of the sun threatened to blind her. Screwing her eyes shut, Meraya hid her face from the sun's rays as she was tossed into the bus holding the other gladers. Meraya hit the ground with a dull thud, followed by Thomas. Neither moved. Neither wanted to move. They lay on the floor of the bus, cool metal on their backs as the rumble of the engine starting vibrated against their backs. Meraya could hear the heavy thunk of military boots hitting metal and a man appeared in the corner of her vision. He was tall with a prominent five o'clock shadow. He was heavily muscled with a cold gaze as he grimaced at the two teens immobile of the ground. "Move." His voice was deep as it vibrated from his chest. Neither Meraya nor Thomas made any sign of getting up. With little patience the man drew his foot back and kicked Meraya right in her ribs. Meraya screamed as searing pain shot through her body. In the hysteria and panic, adrenaline had made her numb to the broken bone. Thomas jumped on to the man and slammed his fist into his jaw repeatedly, all of his pent up rage and pain released onto one of their saviors. The gladers sprang up, Minho rushing to pull Thomas off of the man, and Newt at Meraya's side as she curled up into the fetal position, breathing heavily as the pain surged through her body. Men and women all dressed in black charged the bus, pointing their guns at all of the gladers. "What's going on here?" a woman's voice demanded, gun trained on Thomas' chest.

Thomas' settled, glaring at the bodies dressed in black as the man he'd attacked sat up. A smirk was on his face as he wiped blood from his busted lip. "Nothing Laura, just letting off some steam." The woman, Laura, nodded and dropped her weapon, the others following suit. "Alright, pack up. Get them to the safehouse." She spoke with authority and vacated the bus. The man groaned as he stood, glancing at Meraya's form on the ground. "Get her in a seat." He said emotionlessly and sat in the driver's seat. Newt, Minho, and Thomas glared at the man but found their way to a seat, Newt guiding Meraya gently. She rested her head on the glass window, staring out at the vast expanse of the world.


	20. Chapter 20

The bus roared to life as Thomas found himself next to Teresa. He kept his eyes trained on the landscape, sand as far as the eye could see. Teresa slid her hand into his and squeezed. Thomas glanced down but didn't move. He didn't have the energy to move. He noticed a small woman, dressed in black, in the seat next to them. She caught him eyeing him and grunted.

"What happened out there?" Thomas rasped, voice hoarse from the screaming. The woman eyed him, glancing towards the window as she weighed the pros and cons of telling them the tale. "Well, a couple years back the sun flares started. No one could predict they'd happen and by the time the world knew, it was too late. Millions were killed instantly. Those that survived went underground. Then there was the Flare. It messes with your mind and even more died or just went looney from it. WICKED was created to stop it, save the earth but they're torturing kids instead. We found out and decided we needed to protect the youth, not poke and prod them. So here we are." Her voice was surprisingly soothing. Thomas nodded and turned back to the window. Teresa struck a conversation up with the woman. As they spoke, Thomas slid his hand away from Teresa's. It was comforting having her touch, but it felt wrong, like a betrayal, and on some level Thomas believed it was. _ _

The gladers were led from the bus to a large warehouse looking building. It was completely covered in bricks with almost no windows. Once inside the gladers were offered a shower, new clothes, and pizza. Real, honest to god, cheesy pizza. Meraya was shipped off to the medical ward. She was put to sleep while they reset her bones and wrapped tape around her midsection to keep her ribs set. It was a quick procedure and within the hour she was as good as new.

Thomas stood under the hot water, letting it run over his aching body. Despite the hot temperature, Thomas barely felt anything. Lifting his face, he let the water wash over him, mind thinking over everything that had happened to them. Then and there, Thomas vowed to take down WICKED anyway he could….for Chuck.

Meraya sat between Newt and Minho, a hot piece of pizza on her plate. The other gladers laughed and cracked jokes. Some even went to explore the compound but she sat there, numb. Newt watched worriedly as Meraya poked and prodded her food but never actually taking a bite. All she could think about was Chuck. Why did it have to be him? He was young, innocent. Why couldn't it be her?

 _Talk to me._ Meraya let out a soft gasp, not expecting his voice to enter her mind. Newt cast a worried glance but Meraya shrugged it off.

 _I miss him too. It hurts me too._ Thomas' voice was so soft. Meraya sighed, standing up from the table and walked out of the dining area. She rest her back against the wall and slid down until she sat, knees pulled into her chest, face buried in her hands as the tears that she had been holding back all this time cascaded down her face. _It hurts…so much._

Thomas felt the pain in Meraya's voice as she finally answered. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding when he felt her familiar presence in his mind. Teresa glanced at him, realizing he hadn't been listening to her idle chatter at all.

"Thomas where are you…" Teresa's voice trailed off as she watched Thomas speed walk right out of the dining hall. She frowned, knowing exactly where he was going. He was going to her. Jealousy slithered into Teresa's heart at the thought. She couldn't explain it, and at most times felt guilty for it, but she hated Meraya with every fiber of her being. She hated her because Thomas wanted her. Because at the end of the day he would go to her side instead. Teresa glared at the doors Thomas had disappeared behind. _He's mine. I'll make him mine if it's the last thing I do._

Meraya's sobs wracked her body, shaking her entire frame. She struggled to keep them quiet, to not let anyone hear her. She didn't want to be seen like this, a blubbering mess but her heart ached. It was so unbearable and she wished she could rip the damn thing from her chest. Two arms wrapped around her suddenly and Meraya found herself with her face buried into someone neck.

 _It hurts me too. I know you loved him like family…I did too._ Thomas. It was Thomas who was holding her. Meraya put her hands against his chest to push away but he only held her tighter. _Don't. Please don't._ Meraya crumpled at the pleading desperation in his voice. She glanced down feeling something hot and wet against her neck. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks to the face. _You're…crying?_ Thomas sniffled, holding her almost painfully tight. Meraya's will power vanished as she wrapped her arms around Thomas' frame as the sobs now wracked his body. Her eyes stung with her tears as they started once again.

The two teens sat in the hall, clinging to each other for dear life. They cried for an undetermined amount of time, hugging. They were afraid that if they let go, they would crumpled into dust. He was her lifeline and she was what kept him sane. They needed each other to survive whether or not they knew it yet. They were tied together and WICKED knew it. Their bond made them great but it also made them dangerous.

After dinner, the gladers were sent to bed. No one knew what time it was but after their feast of greasy, cheesy pizza, they were more than happy to go to sleep. Their saviors separated Meraya and Teresa from the boys, something everyone griped about, and the boys were sent to their dormitory on the right of the dining area, Teresa and Meraya were sent to the left.

The two girls stepped into the small room. Two bunk beds sat on either side, flush against the wall. A dresser sat on the wall in between them and directly across from the door they had entered was the entrance to the bathroom. Meraya didn't spare Teresa one glance. If she could, she would sleep in the bathroom. Meraya ran her fingers over the soft blankets. It was like heaven underneath her hand. She got flashes of the makeshift bed she had in the glade and gave a small smile. She would miss that place.

Crawling into bed, Meraya stared up at the bottom of the bed above her. Silence buzzed in her ears as the lights faded and darkness filled the room. She turned her head to look at Teresa but the girls back was to her so Meraya looked straight ahead again.

 _Thomas you there?_

 _…..Yeah I am._

 _What do you think is going to happen to us now?_

 _…I don't know….but I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise._ Meraya smirked to herself shaking her head.

 _Don't make promises you can't keep._

 _…It's not a promise. It's an oath._

 _That's the same thing smarty-pants._ Meraya giggled softly to herself. She swore she heard Thomas chuckle as well.

 _Goodnight Meraya._

 _Goodnight Thomas….see you in the morning._

 **END OF BOOK ONE.**

So this is my first fanfiction so I hope you all enjoyed it. I would really, really love some feedback so don't be afraid to submit reviews. I'll take good and bad ones, everyone needs constructive criticism. I do plan on continuing this through Scorch Trials and the Death Cure so if there is something you would like to see, let me know. Again, hope you all enjoyed. There's more to come!


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